Mother of NYC activist Rev. Al Sharpton dies

FILE - In this file photo of June 3, 2001, Ada Sharpton, the mother of the Rev. Al Sharpton, is flanked by his daughters, Ashley, 14, left, and Dominique, 15, after they all visited Sharpton at the Metropolitan Detention Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, where he is serving a 90-day sentence for trespassing on U.S. Navy property during a May 1 protest on Vieques. At left is Sharpton's attorney Sanford Rubenstein. Ada Sharpton passed away Thursday, March 22, 2012 in Dothan, Ala. She was 87. (AP Photo/Robert Spencer, File)

March 22, 2012

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NEW YORK—The 87-year-old mother of the Rev. Al Sharpton has died.

His spokeswoman says Ada Sharpton died early Thursday morning in Dothan, Ala., following a long battle with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Rachel Noerdlinger says Sharpton will fly to Alabama to make arrangements for his mother's funeral after attending a rally Thursday evening in Sanford, Fla., for Trayvon Martin.

Martin is a black teenager who was shot to death by a Hispanic neighborhood watch captain in Florida. His parents attended a march for their son in New York City on Wednesday.

Noerdlinger says Sharpton learned of his mother's death while boarding the flight to Florida on Thursday morning. He heads the National Action Network, a civil rights organization based in New York City.