Sharpton invited to speak at convention

Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry has invited former primary rival Rev. Al Sharpton to address this summer's Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Kerry made his comments in an interview broadcast Thursday night on the Black Entertainment Network.

BET Nightly News anchor Jacque Reid asked Kerry whether Sharpton would be invited to speak.

"I hope so. Sure – that's my call," Kerry said. "If he wants to do it, he can do it."

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Kerry repeated the invitation, saying if Sharpton wanted to do it, "I'd like him to do it."

"I think he'd do a terrific job," Kerry said. "I think he'll add something ... there's no plea necessary. It's my invitation."

Speaking about the campaign, Kerry said Sharpton "certainly earned the right to be part of this process, and I think he can be very, very helpful in motivating people, in helping to register people."

BET casts itself as the leading television network for "the African-American audience," reaching more than 78 million households according to Nielsen media research."

Sharpton's credibility has been questioned by critics, both Democrat and Republican, who point to numerous racial incidents, including his encouragement of protest against a white, Jewish business in Harlem that led to a man killing eight people and burning down the store.

In 1988, he was an adviser to Tawana Brawley, a black teenager who claimed she had been abducted and raped by a gang of whites. A grand jury, however, found no evidence of any crime.