- Genealogists have revealed that the Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendent of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond — a discovery the civil rights activist on Sunday called “shocking.”
Sharpton learned of his connection to Thurmond, once a prominent defender of segregation, last week through the Daily News, which asked genealogists to trace his roots.
- Thurmond, of South Carolina, was once considered an icon of racial segregation. During his 1948 bid for president, he promised to preserve segregation and, 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 only once in 1991 when he visited Washington, D.C., 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.
- The long-serving senator was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964.
Strom's ancestors are even more ancient history than he was. Get over it already. He's dead and has absolutely no bearing on any sort of debate today. Kind of like Sharpton's career.
Labels: silly people