Sharpton's Blood May Flow Through the Prominent Dixiecrat

Fairly humorous but at the same time deals a stark reminder to the legacy of slavery in this country, Al Sharptongue may be a distant relative of the late longtime Senator, Dixiecrat, and fierce defender of segregation with a sharp tongue of his own, Strom Thurmond.

Although this provided yet another opportunity for Sharpton to meet the cameras, it wasn't one of the patented rants of his that have let him become a well-known name in New York and across the country.

"I have always wondered what was the background of my family," he said. "But nothing - nothing - could prepare me for this."

And later in the piece:
"You know for real that you are three generations away from slavery," Sharpton would later remark.

As was explained to Sharpton:

"Julia Thurmond Sharpton's grandfather and Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather, William Thurmond, are the same man," Smolenyak explained. "Julia Thurmond Sharpton is Strom Thurmond's first cousin twice removed."

At the end of the article, Sharpton offered this remark:

"You have opportunities that they didn't have," he added. "It gives you a sense of obligation."

Hopefully he will keep those lines in mind in the future.

Sharpton is seeking to verify the link to Thurmond with a DNA test and also said a few words to the press that, although promoting himself (yet again), does highlight how far the country has come since Thurmond's 1948 run for President.

"It's important for America, because in the story of the Thurmonds and the Sharptons, there's the story of the shame and the glory of America," Sharpton told reporters and camera crews jammed into the lobby of The News.

"The shame is that people were owned as property, and the shame is that every time I write my name now, I will think about how I got that name. The shame is that I am the heir of those who were property to the Thurmond family," Sharpton said, with his daughter Dominique at his side.

"But the glory is that Strom Thurmond ran for President in 1948 on a segregationist ticket. I ran in '04 on a ticket of racial justice," Sharpton continued. "I got 10% of the vote in South Carolina. I beat [former Vermont Gov.] Howard Dean and [retired Army Gen.] Wesley Clark in South Carolina.

"I wonder what my great-grandfather would have thought about that."

Whether Sharpton is indeed related by blood or not, hopefully he does keep the progress made in America (especially that since Thurmond's presidential run nearly 60 years ago) firmly in his mind.