McDonald first met Rev Sharpton at the Hall of Justice Headquarters in Harlem in 2002 with Marsha Coleman-Adebayo in the campaign to pass the No Fear Act of 2002. Rev Sharpton's Headquarters mysteriously burned down on the same day he was away in Washington, DC filing as a candidate for the presidency. He is currently using a temporary office in midtown Manhattan. Rev Sharpton was instrumental in the passage of the "1st Civil Rights Legislation of the 21st Century." The legislation was dead until Rev Sharpton agreed to come to Washington, DC where he, at the request of the No Fear Coalition, led a Freedom Rally at Freedom Plaza, Freedom Ride and visit to the U.S. Senate. AAEA hopes that Rev Sharpton can be as instrumental in the passage of national energy and environmental justice legislation. The presidential debate was covered by C-Span and Rev Sharpton held his own in a spirited discussion about our nation's environmental and energy issues. Rev Sharpton is a natural environmentalist and he easily absorbed massive amounts of information in a very short time. We look forward to Rev Sharpton applying his sharp intellect to the formulation of innovative solutions to a wide variety of enviroinmental and energy problems.