Al Sharpton: DNA Could Tie Me to Thurmond

[chefmike]

Al Sharpton: DNA Could Tie Me to Thurmond

Monday, February 26, 2007

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton said he wants a DNA test to determine whether he is related to former segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond through his great-grandfather, a slave owned by an ancestor of the late senator.

"I can't find out anything more shocking than I've already learned," Sharpton told the Daily News, which reported the link Sunday based on genealogists' findings.

Sharpton's spokesman, Rachel Noerdlinger, confirmed Monday for The Associated Press that Sharpton, who learned about the connection last week, plans to pursue DNA testing. Noerdlinger had no further details.

Professional genealogists, who work 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.

"Based on the paper trail, it seems pretty evident that the connection is there," said Mike Ward, a genealogist with Ancestry.com.

The company's chief family genealogist, Megan Smolenyak, said Sharpton would need to match his DNA with a present-day descendant to see if they are biologically related.

"I think the odds are slim he would match," Smolenyak told the News.

The revelations surfaced after Ancestry.com contacted a Daily News reporter who agreed to have his own family tree done. The intrigued reporter then asked Sharpton if he wanted to participate. Sharpton, who ran for president in 2004 calling for racial equality, said he told the paper, "Go for it."

The genealogists, who were not paid by the newspaper, uncovered the ancestral ties using a variety of documents that included census, marriage and death records.

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.

Thurmond was seen as softening his stance later in his long life. He died in 2003, at 100. One of the longest-serving senators in history, he was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964.

His children have confirmed that he fathered a biracial daughter. Essie Mae Washington-Williams' mother was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond's parents.

Washington-Williams' daughter, Wanda Terry, said her mother was not available for comment Monday. She said she and Washington-Williams were shocked when they learned of the Sharpton link.

"I said, 'Boy, the Thurmond family - this thing - the legs keep growing,'" Terry said.

Sharpton said he met Thurmond only once, when he visited Washington with the late James Brown, who knew Thurmond. Sharpton said the 1991 meeting was awkward.

"I was not happy to meet him because what he had done all his life," Sharpton said.

Terry said Sharpton should try to make peace with the matter.

"We made our peace with ours," she said. "My mother addressed that. She has a relationship with her family members and she's moved on. There's no animosity and there's no point in having all this resentment because it's not healthy and it's not doing anyone any good."

Thurmond's 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," Senter, of Columbia, S.C., told the Daily News.

She added: "And it is wonderful that (Sharpton) was able to become what he is in spite of what his forefather was."

[wombat33]

Al Sharpton: DNA Could Tie Me to Thurmond

Monday, February 26, 2007

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton said he wants a DNA test to determine whether he is related to former segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond through his great-grandfather, a slave owned by an ancestor of the late senator.

"I can't find out anything more shocking than I've already learned," Sharpton told the Daily News, which reported the link Sunday based on genealogists' findings.

Sharpton's spokesman, Rachel Noerdlinger, confirmed Monday for The Associated Press that Sharpton, who learned about the connection last week, plans to pursue DNA testing. Noerdlinger had no further details.

Professional genealogists, who work 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.

"Based on the paper trail, it seems pretty evident that the connection is there," said Mike Ward, a genealogist with Ancestry.com.

The company's chief family genealogist, Megan Smolenyak, said Sharpton would need to match his DNA with a present-day descendant to see if they are biologically related.

"I think the odds are slim he would match," Smolenyak told the News.

The revelations surfaced after Ancestry.com contacted a Daily News reporter who agreed to have his own family tree done. The intrigued reporter then asked Sharpton if he wanted to participate. Sharpton, who ran for president in 2004 calling for racial equality, said he told the paper, "Go for it."

The genealogists, who were not paid by the newspaper, uncovered the ancestral ties using a variety of documents that included census, marriage and death records.

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.

Thurmond was seen as softening his stance later in his long life. He died in 2003, at 100. One of the longest-serving senators in history, he was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964.

His children have confirmed that he fathered a biracial daughter. Essie Mae Washington-Williams' mother was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond's parents.

Washington-Williams' daughter, Wanda Terry, said her mother was not available for comment Monday. She said she and Washington-Williams were shocked when they learned of the Sharpton link.

"I said, 'Boy, the Thurmond family - this thing - the legs keep growing,'" Terry said.

Sharpton said he met Thurmond only once, when he visited Washington with the late James Brown, who knew Thurmond. Sharpton said the 1991 meeting was awkward.

"I was not happy to meet him because what he had done all his life," Sharpton said.

Terry said Sharpton should try to make peace with the matter.

"We made our peace with ours," she said. "My mother addressed that. She has a relationship with her family members and she's moved on. There's no animosity and there's no point in having all this resentment because it's not healthy and it's not doing anyone any good."

Thurmond's 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," Senter, of Columbia, S.C., told the Daily News.

She added: "And it is wonderful that (Sharpton) was able to become what he is in spite of what his forefather was."


So what if he is related.

I can't stand when people in todays world want us to pay for sins of people 200 years ago.

It's just nuts.


Thomas Jefferson hadslaves too. Should we check that family tree too?

I don't have a racist bone in my body. But this is almost funny

[Quinn]

Given that both men were/are two of the bigger idiots to ever toss their respective hats into the political arena, this is both ironic and poetic.

-Quinn

[chefmike]

Al Sharpton: DNA Could Tie Me to Thurmond

Monday, February 26, 2007

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton said he wants a DNA test to determine whether he is related to former segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond through his great-grandfather, a slave owned by an ancestor of the late senator.

"I can't find out anything more shocking than I've already learned," Sharpton told the Daily News, which reported the link Sunday based on genealogists' findings.

Sharpton's spokesman, Rachel Noerdlinger, confirmed Monday for The Associated Press that Sharpton, who learned about the connection last week, plans to pursue DNA testing. Noerdlinger had no further details.

Professional genealogists, who work 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.

"Based on the paper trail, it seems pretty evident that the connection is there," said Mike Ward, a genealogist with Ancestry.com.

The company's chief family genealogist, Megan Smolenyak, said Sharpton would need to match his DNA with a present-day descendant to see if they are biologically related.

"I think the odds are slim he would match," Smolenyak told the News.

The revelations surfaced after Ancestry.com contacted a Daily News reporter who agreed to have his own family tree done. The intrigued reporter then asked Sharpton if he wanted to participate. Sharpton, who ran for president in 2004 calling for racial equality, said he told the paper, "Go for it."

The genealogists, who were not paid by the newspaper, uncovered the ancestral ties using a variety of documents that included census, marriage and death records.

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.

Thurmond was seen as softening his stance later in his long life. He died in 2003, at 100. One of the longest-serving senators in history, he was originally a Democrat but became a Republican in 1964.

His children have confirmed that he fathered a biracial daughter. Essie Mae Washington-Williams' mother was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond's parents.

Washington-Williams' daughter, Wanda Terry, said her mother was not available for comment Monday. She said she and Washington-Williams were shocked when they learned of the Sharpton link.

"I said, 'Boy, the Thurmond family - this thing - the legs keep growing,'" Terry said.

Sharpton said he met Thurmond only once, when he visited Washington with the late James Brown, who knew Thurmond. Sharpton said the 1991 meeting was awkward.

"I was not happy to meet him because what he had done all his life," Sharpton said.

Terry said Sharpton should try to make peace with the matter.

"We made our peace with ours," she said. "My mother addressed that. She has a relationship with her family members and she's moved on. There's no animosity and there's no point in having all this resentment because it's not healthy and it's not doing anyone any good."

Thurmond's 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," Senter, of Columbia, S.C., told the Daily News.

She added: "And it is wonderful that (Sharpton) was able to become what he is in spite of what his forefather was."


So what if he is related.

I can't stand when people in todays world want us to pay for sins of people 200 years ago.

It's just nuts.


Thomas Jefferson hadslaves too. Should we check that family tree too?

I don't have a racist bone in my body. But this is almost funny


Hey moonbat...yeah you, asshole...

Here are the people who care what you think....

[chefmike]

Given that both men were/are two of the bigger idiots to ever toss their respective hats into the political arena, this is both ironic and poetic.

-Quinn
It is a small world indeed...

[chefmike]

The history of the indentured "white slaves" in America has always interested me.

Not that I'm comparing their plight with that of the black slaves horrific existence.

Indentured "White Slaves" in the Colonies
(1770, by William Eddis)


By the eighteenth century indentured servants outnumbered African slaves in the North American colonies. Unlike the situation endured by slaves, however, the state was an impermanent one for indentured servants. Initially an attempt to alleviate severe labor shortages in New World settlements, the system of indenture comprised not only willing English women, children, and men, but also convicts, religious separatists, and political prisoners. Indentured servants labored a set number of years (usually four to seven, though the period for convicts could be considerably longer), during which time they were considered the personal property of their masters. Couples were often prevented from marrying, and women from having children. If a woman did become pregnant and was unable to work, an equivalent amount of time was added to her period of servitude. Upon their release, indentured servants were not only given clothing, tools, and, often, even land; they also were usually freed of the stigma of having been a servant at all. In 1665, half of Virginia's House of Burgesses was made up of former indentured servants.

PERSONS in a state of servitude are under four distinct denominations: negroes, who are the entire property of their respective owners: convicts, who are transported from the mother country for a limited term: indented servants, who are engaged for five years previous to their leaving England; and free-willers, who are supposed, from their situation, to possess superior advantages.…

full article-
http://www.answers.com/topic/indentured-white-slaves-in-the-colonies-1770-by-william-eddis

[TSCURIOUS]

Wombat- RUNNING to write a response-
You are so right!!
I also don't have a racist, predacious bone in my body - but why should I pay for the past?
These are things that happened generations ago, and if we were alive then - we would have done the same.
I'm sorry for what happened - I didn't do it - you didn't do it - but it happened - so move on.
Chefmike must love Farrakam too - did he listen to his last speach - he SPEWS hatred and segregation!!!
Funny thing is - as I was driving today - I thought about starting the SAME thread..
Everybody is my brother/sister - As a Christian - I can't hate.

[guyone]

Wombat if you don't think like the herd then you will be dealt with.

"Differences of opinion should be tolerated as long as they are not too different."
-Woody Allen's BANANAS

Given that both men were/are two of the bigger idiots to ever toss their respective hats into the political arena, this is both ironic and poetic.

-Quinn


LOL

[werwt22]

Wombat- RUNNING to write a response-
You are so right!!
I also don't have a racist, predacious bone in my body - but why should I pay for the past?
These are things that happened generations ago, and if we were alive then - we would have done the same.
I'm sorry for what happened - I didn't do it - you didn't do it - but it happened - so move on.
Chefmike must love Farrakam too - did he listen to his last speach - he SPEWS hatred and segregation!!!
Funny thing is - as I was driving today - I thought about starting the SAME thread..
Everybody is my brother/sister - As a Christian - I can't hate.

Why should you pay? You know we pay Japan b/c we nuked like 100,000 of their people off the face of the Earth right? You pay for that in taxes and don't even know just like were paying countries to keep them from building nukes. I'm not saying you should pay, just saying its a similar situation.

[trish]

wombat writes

So what if he is related.

I can't stand when people in todays world want us to pay for sins of people 200 years ago.

It's just nuts.


unlike Jehovah, who was always smiting the sons and daughters for the sins of the father, i too don't hold the living responsible for the trespasses of prior generations...even if they do sometimes have the advantage because of those trespasses. but you guys are acting like Stom Thurmond (one of the biggest biggots of them all) was 200 years old. :? oh...yeah...maybe he was...sorry...nevermind.

in any case, i agree. it would be nuts to punish Al Sharpton for having ancestors from whom Strom Thurmond later devolved. i don't see how that's Al's fault...i really don't. the point is Strom was a nasty piece of work and so are all the people who knew that he was and still voted for him...voted for him because he was a nasty hypocritical racist. it's the ancestors of those people who should be punished...that's what i'm saying. boy, if i only had a time-machine. :lol: