Don Cornelius, founder of the television show, “Soul Train,” died this morning in an apparent suicide.  Rev. Al Sharpton issued a statement about the death of Cornelius this morning:

“I am shocked and grief stricken by the reported news of the suicide of Don Cornelius, the creator of Soul Train. I have known him since I was19-years-old and James Brown had me speak on Soul Train. We have maintained a friendship for the last 38-years. He brought soul music and dance to the world in a way that it had never been shown and he was a cultural game changer on a global level. Had it not been for Don Cornelius we would not have ever transcended from the Chitlin circuit to become mainstream cultural trendsetters.”