Rev. Al Sharpton And Wife Kathy Renew Their Wedding Vows

Jet, Sept 17, 2001

Rev. Al Sharpton and his wife Kathy Jordan Sharpton recently renewed wedding vows after nearly 21 years during a ceremony attended by more than 1,000 guests at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem.

The couple's 21st wedding anniversary is October 31. They married in 1980 in a Las Vegas civil ceremony with a justice of the peace performing the ceremony.

Last year at his birthday celebration on October 3, Rev. Sharpton surprised his wife by promising to give her something she always wanted--a church wedding.

"My birthday surprise to her was to renew our vows before our 21st anniversary," Sharpton told JET. "The only thing she wanted was a church wedding. I wanted her to have the gift that she always wanted."

And Mrs. Sharpton was indeed happy that her dream wedding had come true. "I feel wonderful," she told reporters at the church.

Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, pastor of Canaan Baptist Church of Christ, and Rev. Franklin Richardson, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, NY, presided at the nuptials.

The couple's teenage daughters, Dominique,15, and Ashley, 14, served as junior bridesmaids.

Sharpton's groomsmen included boxing promoter Don King and Martin Luther King III. His best man was Dwight McKee, Sharpton's best childhood friend. Mrs. Sharpton's sister, Kimberly Ann Jordan, served as maid of honor and Karriemah Muhammad, the bride's childhood friend, served as the matron of honor.

The couple met when Mrs. Sharpton was a background singer for the legendary Godfather of Soul James Brown and Sharpton says he was like Brown's "surrogate son." He chuckled that he was impressed by his future wife because she was the only singer on the road "who would go to church."

The Sharptons had planned to renew their vows in June, but Rev. Sharpton was sentenced to 90 days in a New York prison for protesting the U.S. Navy bombing exercises in Puerto Rico.