IIRC, one big case that put Al Sharpton into the spotlight was the Twana Brawly case where this 15 year old Black girl in 1978 was attacked by a gang of White boys, had dog crap smeared all over her and I think she was tossed in a dumpster, not sure on the last one. It was later proven to be a hoax yet Sharpton is still big on the national scene. I remember watching Sharpton on Morton Downey Jr. harping about it all the time.