Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and television talk show host. He was a candidate for the Democrat nomination for the United States presidential election, 2004. He makes regular guest appearances on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. In 2011, he was named the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation, a talk show.