Many Americans may remember the Rev. Al Sharpton for his confrontational marches and his booming oratory, demanding – yes, demanding – corrective action for a perceived injustice.

He still marches when he has to. But these days the Rev. Mr. Sharpton is more likely to be seen in pinstripes, meeting with President Obama’s Cabinet officials and raising money from Wall Street firms for his National Action Network (NAN). Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who once had Sharpton arrested, now calls him a friend. And, on Wednesday, President Obama will travel to New York to attend the NAN’s Twentieth Anniversary and National Convention.

Some political observers see the president's trip as an effort to firm up his African-American base in advance of the 2012 election. Others wonder if it’s the kind of visit that might later become a campaign liability as Mr. Obama tries to woo moderate voters. Still others see it as a mark of acknowledgement that Sharpton has become a more positive force for change, no longer the radical known for interjecting race into every issue.

“Rev. Sharpton has been a strong supporter of President Obama, and I see the president going there and speaking as a natural evolution of sorts in the reverend’s public persona," says David Bositis, senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington-based organization that conducts research on issues important to people of color. “It is a mark of acknowledgement by the White House.”

Read more at the Christian Science Monitor.