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Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 3598
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 08:43 am: | 
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Family Ties Sharpton to Thurmond
By Associated Press
February 25, 2007, 6:34 AM CST
NEW YORK -- Geneaologists have found that civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendent of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The Daily News said professional genealogists, working at the newspaper's behest, recently uncovered the ancestral ties between one of the nation's best known black leaders and a man who was once a prominent defender of segregation.
"I have always wondered what was the background of my family," the newspaper quoted Sharpton as saying. "But nothing -- nothing -- could prepare me for this."
"It's chilling. It's amazing."
Sharpton's office said Sunday morning that he would not comment until a news conference planned for later in the day.
Some of Thurmond's relatives said the connection also came as a surprise to them. A niece, Ellen Senter, said she would speak with Sharpton if he were interested.
"I doubt you can find many native South Carolinians today whose family, if you traced them back far enough, didn't own slaves," said Senter, 61, of Columbia, S.C. She added: "And it is wonderful that (Sharpton) was able to become what he is in spite of what his forefather was."
One of the late senator's sons, Paul Thurmond, and a nephew, Barry Bishop, declined comment, the Daily News said.
According to the newspaper, the genealogists found documents establishing that Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather. Coleman Sharpton was later freed.
The newspaper said the lead researcher was Megan Smolenyak, the chief family historian for Ancestry.com and an author of several published books on genealogy. Another researcher on the project was Tony Burroughs, who teaches genealogy at Chicago State University.
Strom Thurmond, of South Carolina, was once considered a symbol of segregation. During his 1948 bid for president, he promised to preserve racial segregation. In 1957, he filibustered for more than 24 hours against a civil rights bill.
But Thurmond was seen as softening his stance later in his long life. He died in 2003, at 100. The longest-serving senator in history, he was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964.
His children have acknowledged that Thurmond fathered a biracial daughter. Essie Mae Washington-Williams' mother was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond's parents.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-sharpton-thurmond,1,2905954.story
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Libralind2
Veteran Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 655
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 03:24 pm: |
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Hummm so Essie and Sharpton are 5th cousins..
LiLi |
Viqi_french
Regular Poster
Username: Viqi_french
Post Number: 67
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 06:11 pm: |
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Guess it's true: You can't pick your relatives.
As amazed as we all are, can you imagine how 'confused' Rev. Sharpton must be?
The apocolypse is now...
http://southsidestar.blogspot.com |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 3648
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 03:02 pm: |
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Thurmond Child Says Sharpton Overreacted
By KATRINA A. GOGGINS
Feb 27, 2:14 PM EST
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The biracial daughter of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond defended the former segregationist on Tuesday and said the Rev. Al Sharpton "overreacted" when Sharpton learned he is a descendent of a slave owned by the senator's relatives.
"In spite of the fact he was a segregationist, he did many wonderful things for black people ... I'm not sure that Reverend Sharpton is aware of all the things he did," said Essie Mae Washington-Williams, who was in South Carolina for a speech. "I kind of feel that there was an overreaction."
Professional genealogists working for Ancestry.com found that Sharpton's great-grandfather Coleman Sharpton was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather. Coleman Sharpton was later freed.
When Sharpton learned of the link, he said: "It was probably the most shocking thing in my life."
Thurmond, of South Carolina, was once considered an icon of racial segregation. During his 1948 bid for president, he promised to preserve segregation. In 1957, he filibustered for more than 24 hours against a civil rights bill.
Sharpton, who ran for president in 2004 on a ticket of racial justice, said he met Thurmond in 1991 with the late soul singer James Brown, who knew Thurmond. Sharpton said the meeting was "awkward."
"I was not happy to meet him because what he had done all his life," Sharpton said.
Thurmond, the nation's long-serving senator, was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964. He softened his segregation stance later in his life and died in 2003, at 100.
Thurmond's children have acknowledged that Thurmond fathered a biracial daughter. Williams' mother was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond's parents.
A telephone message left Tuesday at Strom Thurmond Jr.'s office was not immediately returned.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SHARPTON_THURMOND
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Renata
Veteran Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1834
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 03:20 am: |
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"He did many wonderful things for black people"
ummmmmmm.....like father a few and tell them to shut up and get to the back of the bus? |
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