While MSNBC showcases a slew of reporters, contributors and anchors with strong liberal views, Sharpton offered a level of authenticity with his keen understanding of both race and politics that hadn’t been seen before on cable news. His on-air presence quickly attracted a large number of minority viewers, and Politics Nation now ranks as the network’s No. 1 show watched by African Americans. According to a recent Neilsen ratings report,  Politics Nations also surpassed the ratings of its CNN competitor John King’s USA by more than 200,000 viewers.

Much in the same way the 58-year-old ordained minister used Politics Nation to shift the country’s attention to the tragic shooting death of Martin, he also insisted daily that people of color and those who believed in fairness fight back against Republican-sponsored voter suppression laws that threatened to derail Obama’s push for a second term as well as turn the clock back on civil rights.

This summer, Ohio, Florida and several other states declared that they would ask voters for additional IDs to vote in the presidential election, and that they would shorten the dates for early voting. Both restrictions hurt minority voters, a group that turned out in large numbers during the 2008 Presidential campaign to support Obama.