"Shocked" Sharpton Wants DNA Test

Potential Slave-Era Link Between Families Prompts Rev. Al Sharpton To Call For More Evidence

(CBS/AP)  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 on Sunday reported the link based on genealogists' findings.

Sharpton's spokesman, Rachel Noerdlinger, confirmed Monday for The Associated Press that Sharpton plans to pursue DNA testing, but had no further details.

CBS News Radio correspondent Peter King reports that Sharpton said he will interview the researchers and the reporter on-air and take calls about the topic.

Sharpton and Thurmond didn't appear to have much in common: Thurmond ran for president in 1948 as a segregationist. Sharpton ran for president in 2004 calling for racial equality. Sharpton learned about the connection last week.

"It was probably the most shocking thing in my life," Sharpton said at a news conference Sunday, the day the Daily News reported the link.

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 who called the link "amazing."

Ancestry.com'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. "There is no particular evidence to suggest that there is a direct relationship between the two (black and white) Sharpton families to suggest they share a common ancestry. But, given the legacy of plantation society, you can't rule it out."

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 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.

Strom 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.

But 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.

Sharpton said he met Thurmond only once, in 1991, when he visited Washington, D.C., with the late 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.

Sharpton said he hadn't attempted to contact the Thurmond family. As far as he knew, he said, the family hadn't tried to call him, either.

Some of Thurmond's relatives said the nexus 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," 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."

Telephone messages left by The Associated Press for Strom Thurmond Jr. and for an attorney who once represented Thurmond's biracial daughter were not immediately returned Sunday.

[agnim]

"There is one thing I am pretty sure of. As long as we ditinguish betwween "African Americans" and "European Americans" we will continue to suffer with the racial divide that has plagued our country for far too long.

Posted by ronin10 at 06:38 AM : Feb 27, 2007"

Learn about AMERICAN HISTORY?

Have you never heard of SEGREGATION AND RACISM in America?

Have you ever thought about whom is responsible for the CENTURIES of "divide" in America?

If your parents and teachers have kept their dirty little secrets from you, we'll be glad to fill you in. LOL

Maybe people calling themselves African Americans divided America, right?

Anyway, I bet that the long used identities; GREEK AMERICAN OR ITALIAN AMERICAN have never never bothered you, just African American?

Maybe you need to check your racism and denial in the closet before you join these kinds of debates? LOL

[kailumego1]

Ronin10, while I agree wholeheartedly, if blacks went to Africa, which is a continent, not a country, in search of their historical roots they would undoubtedly be in for a rude awakening. Africa being highly fractionalized and extremely diverse many would not be greeted with the warmth and congenial they were hoping for, but vehemence and hostility in many parts.

Considering Africa is so fractionalized, of which they have had some of the bloodiest feuds between tribal factions, and continue, it is highly unlikely, particularly, unknowing the region or location of many African slaves down to minute detail that they would be welcomed congenially.

[kailumego1]

Most Africans have ambivalence towards so-called African Americans, because they [Africans] are so tribalistic, therefore, trying to create a magical bond with a vast territory of chaotic social ideological beliefs based on fractionalization is pointless.

Africans, as a whole have very little knowledge or awareness of the other countries, i.e. Rwanda vs. Mali, within Africa%u2019s sphere, so although the genocide in Rwanda touched the international community, other neighboring African countries were selectively mute.

However, that doesn%u2019t negate the hypocrisy here in America, Al Sharpton may be livid if he finds out he has a genetic link to Storm Thurman, but the real issue rest on individuals here embracing cultural differences and not polarizing those based on raw superficial analysis.

We are different and that%u2019s not a bad thing, the problem is those individuals desiring to create this homogenous society based on Eurocentric norms and values omitting the colorful distinctions, which make this world a beautiful place.

[aznyron-2009]

I find this very funny it seem to upset some people that they might have a black relative I personaly have several niece's who are biracial my sister who is white married a black man and got divorced and married another black man it does not disturb me in fact I think it nice to be able to cross color lines and be loving towards each other we have to much hatred in this world especially towards color & religion choose your socks by there color choose your friends by there character AMEN

[kory2007]

When the phrase was uttered by the Virginia State Senator %u2018Blacks should just get over it%u2019 the revelation by Reverend Sharpton is a stark reminder to many people their material lineage is a result of a rape that happened long ago, but still conjures the pain and shame felt by their grandmother in the hearts of her descendents today. The inculcation and subsequent brutality of those forcibly brought to this country should also beckon the paternal descendents responsible for the atrocity to wonder if there is truly a heaven, and whether or not the sins of the father will one day be answered by their sons and daughters. Just as slavery had and still has a profound affect in the lives of Black People in this country, it must also haunt at least some of those with a conscience as well. The Slave Master relationship frequently overlooks the fact that the slavers were slaves themselves to the dominion they once held, and the wealth they enjoy even today is the result of wages never paid. Ironically, the bond between those believing God gave them the right to enslave another and those still searching for their roots, it is an indication of a lingering pathology. For those who look in the mirror everyday and see the ghosts of those who once whipped them into submission, seeing the features of a grandfather who saw their grandmother as little more than chattel, must make them wonder if the sound of the cracking lash will ever stop ringing in their ears. York Van Nixon III 2/26/07

[klmetz_cbs]

Bla,bla, bla... who cares?
Now, if he can 'prove' he (or anyone else) was related to the Roswell aliens...now that would be news.

[elgraz]

I always thought that Sharpton and Thurman were related..................yeah right !!!!!!!!!!!

[elgraz]

Humans will be humans..........ain't that the truth.

[kailumego1]

SShankin, you are 500% right, white settlers certainly did start the "scalping" brutality against Native Americans.

And DUMBWOMAN, if white Europeans were so smart then why did thousands of them [Virginians] starve to death in the mid-1600%u2019s, because they were too lazy to farm the land depending upon the Native Americans to do it for them, which they vehemently refused.

It was the Native Americans that taught Europeans how to farm the land and which crops were edible, because if it weren%u2019t for the Native Americans, [Indians is a term used by Columbus because he thought he had arrived in China] the vast European population would have never survived.

And I second that emotion read some history, because for the most part, before European settlers Native Americans were very %u201Cpeaceful%u201D, of which they had minor tribal disputes with one another.

More often they tried to settle their disputes peacefully, not like those %u201Cbloodthirsty%u201D Europeans, and unlike European settlers they had great respect for the environment, which accordingly they were very %u201Cwasteful%u201D.

The %u201CHopi%u201D Indians had created elaborate burial mounds, which shocked Europeans, because being as arrogant as they were assumed Native Americans were %u201Cprimitive%u201D.

Likewise the Aztec, Incas, and Mayan civilizations rivaled European architecture right down to the minute details.

[bellal-2009]

Oh, please. If any of us can trace our lineage back to the 1600s we'd probably all be related in one way or another. And the whites would probably all have some link to owning slaves. There wasn't that many people here back then.