His hairdo was a definite laugh, especially in the beginning. When Sharpton was unknown James Brown took him to a White House party and insisted Sharpton get his hair done just like Brown's -this is the story Sharpton tells. So he stuck with the do for a long time afterwards. The Brawley fiasco was a pathetic mis-judgement on Sharpton's part. And he has been behind loads of really bad 'causes' in the past which makes me think the switch came about from getting some kind of image advisor or PR firm to help him. He was great in the presidential primary debates some years ago. He has learned a huge amount just from being in the public eye. If he didn't learn I'm sure he would be in jail by now just for being nasty. For a long time when he was just a local 'social figure' he survived in a way only someone of his ilk could in NYC because in no other city in the US would he have been afforded any credibility at all. Don't forget he started out running a 'boys club' that was well known to be a money laundering scam for, supposedly, the mob!