Al Sharpton Announces Next Steps in War Against Offensive Music

At his National Action Network’s annual convention last week, Al Sharpton announced the next steps in his war on violence and misogyny in popular music. According to the New York Post, Sharpton revealed plans to purchase stock in companies such as the Universal Music Group and Time Warner, and then exercise his right to attend shareholder meetings and complain about lyrical content. "Some of these stockholders have no idea that they own stock in a parent company that owns companies calling them bitches and ho's," he said. Universal and the Warner Music Group are multinational conglomerates that own some of the most successful labels in hip-hop, including Def Jam and Atlantic Records. Sharpton also announced plans for a “decency march” to be held in midtown Manhattan next month that will target the offices of music companies such as Sony, Universal and Warner. Joining Sharpton’s call for reform is Congressman Charles Rangel, who pledged $15,000 dollars to the cause after Universal allegedly withdrew a donation after Sharpton launched the initiative. A spokesperson for Universal told the Post that the allegations were false. "It's absolutely not true," said the spokesman. "We didn't ask for it back."