More than 20 years after the Rev. Al Sharpton nearly died after being stabbed during a march in Brooklyn, N.Y., he said he's now a more careful, thoughtful person still ingrained with the passion for protest.
"I could really die for this," Sharpton recalled thinking while recovering from the stabbing, which happened on Jan. 13, 1991. "I came to terms that I was willing to die, but I didn't just want to be remembered for sound bites."
"I really wanted to make a difference," he added.
Sharpton, who is the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation, said that's when he felt it was important to not only speak about change, but try to create it with legislation.
But he would later suffer two failed attempts at taking office, including an unsuccessful run for the 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination.
The 57-year-old said too many politicians simply don't listen to the people.
"Too many candidates deal with the inside politics," Sharpton said. "I was trying to talk to the concerns of everyday people. … Politics should always be about the people."
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He wasn't afraid to grow as a person, he said.
A vegetarian, Sharpton said meat no longer tempts him, and he's also a lot more watchful of what he does and says.
"I was not as strategic as I am now," Sharpton said. "When you're younger, you don't care what people think. … It's not about you, it's about what you're trying to represent."
One thing Sharpton definitely still has is his personality.
"Rev. Al in the '80s looking at Rev. Al today would say that 'You're a lot more cautious, but you're still fighting the cause, and you look a whole lot better,'" he said.
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