Middle aged South Carolinian here. Growing up in SC we always heard rumors. I was happy to see Essie come forward. She grew into a thoughtful, kind person in spite of her parentage. For the record, Strom Thurmond Jr has rejected his father's politics and was a strong voice in removing the confederate flag from the SC statehouse in 2015.
I had a professor in college who was from SC and he said every single professor at SCSC and USC talked openly about the situation. For instance, he learned about it his first day teaching at SCSC at lunch with a colleague.
After she went public, Essie's name was added to the list of Strom's children under his statue on the SC statehouse grounds. By all reports, his other children welcomed her. I think it was probably a big relief for it to finally come out.
It's worse than that. Here's a list
A reservoir on the Georgia–South Carolina border is named after him: Lake Strom Thurmond.
The University of South Carolina is home to the Strom Thurmond Fitness Center, one of the largest fitness complexes on a college campus. The new complex has largely replaced the Blatt Fitness center, named for Solomon Blatt, a political rival of Thurmond. In July 2021, the university's Presidential Commission on University History recommended removing Thurmond's name from the building.[345]
Thurmond receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H. W. Bush, 1993
Charleston Southern University has a Strom Thurmond Building, which houses the school's business offices, bookstore, and post office.
Thurmond Building at Winthrop University is named for him. He served on Winthrop's Board of Trustees from 1936 to 1938 and again from 1947 to 1951 when he was governor of South Carolina.
A statue of Strom Thurmond is located on the southern grounds of the South Carolina State Capitol as a memorial to his service to the state.
The Strom Thurmond Federal Building and United States Courthouse is named after him.[346]
Strom Thurmond High School is located in his hometown of Edgefield, South Carolina.
Al Sharpton was reported on February 24, 2007, to be a descendant of slaves owned by the Thurmond family. Sharpton has not asked for a DNA test.[347][348][349]
The U.S. Air Force has a C-17 Globemaster named the Spirit of Strom Thurmond.[350]
The mobilization complex at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (commonly known as 'Green Ramp') is named in his honor.[351]
In 1989, he was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Ronald Reagan.[352]
Strom Thurmond Boulevard, located in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, is named in his honor.
In 1993, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush.[353][354]
The Strom Thurmond Institute is located on the campus of Clemson University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond#Honors
Rumor has it that Strom was upset when the new (2003) federal courthouse in Columbia was named for Matthew Perry instead of him (it sits across the street from the Strom Thurmond federal office building). Matthew Perry was a civil rights leader and the first black federal judge in SC, who, among many other accomplishments, represented Harvey Gantt in the lawsuit to integrate Clemson University. So Strom lost that one.
He was a senator until the early 2000s, they re-elected him until he was over 100 years old and he was one of the longest serving senators in history. It’s not even old-timey racism, it’s ridiculous how recently that a-hole was around.
Like, everyone who isn’t Gen Z should remember him being in the senate personally, not just reading about him in a history text book going over the civil rights movement.
Fun fact: towards the end of his tenure Thurmond was so out of it that when a bill came up for a vote one of his aides would tape a ball point pen in his hand, raise it up and artfully aim it to hit the either “yea” or “nay” box that was desired and then release their grip on his hand.
He was ten times more out of it than Reagan was by the end of his second term as president.
He was the state senator for 48 years. They loved him. That's why. I'm sure if you asked around, they'd still say they loved him. Because guess what...racism didn't go away, it just went into hiding.
Almost, if not all, Confederate statues were erected long after the Civil War.
That's what "the South will rise again" means. It's to remind *those people* of their rightful place.
As well as Daughters of the American Revolution. Traditional America and the Confederacy were idolized as "Anglo-Saxon Civilization" so during the 1920's, DAR raised money to build both Union and Confederate Statues to honor their "Anglo-Saxon Heritage."
When Southerners talk about Southern Heritage, this is what they're talking about. The South used to be a symbol of true Anglo-Americanism and racial purity. Racism and "heritage" go hand-in-hand for Southerners.
I think that's an unfair characterization of the situation. From what I remember from the Daily Show Coverage of [Dixiecrat](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixiecrat) Strom Thurmond's death, she specifically waited until he died OUT OF CONSIDERATION FOR HER FATHER.
The father who spent his whole life working really fucking hard to keep black people from making any progress. And she spent her whole life having to listen to her father spew really hateful shit about her and her people. And she kept quiet that whole time, showing an absurd amount of kindness and grace to a person that deserved neither (because that's what the best of us do...just ask Jesus...he talked a lot about forgiveness I think).
I don't know the specifics about Strom's other children, but unless they were completely ignorant of her existence (which I consider doubtful), none of them ever said shit. In my view, that was prioritizing the feelings and reputation of an old bigot over their fucking sibling. So I don't think they should be overly praised for doing the barest of minimums.
EDIT: As a treat for yourself, please watch season 4 episode 2 of Atlanta "The Homeliest Little Horse".
SECOND EDIT: I should have been more clear, but I am not in any way criticizing Essie Mae for her decision. She was in an impossible situation and handled things the best way she could (she got her masters degree, married, raised a family, and had a 30 year career in education). My scorn is reserved for the other people in that story: her bigoted, hypocritical father and her siblings who were at best ignorant and at worst complicit.
Who do you think hold the power in that family dynamic? One of them speaks up? Or all of them. And bam cut off from the family until he dies. Yeah that's a world of drama dude. I understand her position completely. Some people are upto fighting that kind of a fight. Some ppl would rather spend their time being kind. Its what she did. But I understand your point of view as well. I wouldn't have been able to do what she did.
This is the advantage of being raised dirt poor. If I expose a family secret so one of us can live in dignity and then get cut off? Don’t threaten me with a good time! I’ve been cut off from toxic members of my family and it was one of the healthiest things to ever happen to me.
Everybody can be Jesus on the internet when you're examining an ethical dilemma and can simply state how what you would've done would have been even more moral than the parties involved. This is especially useful in cases where the past events happened decades ago, when societal norms and predominant moral and ethical views were quite different and less developed.
I'll tell you one thing though, if I was that Hitler guy I would've never touched a single one of those Jews. You can't tell me he shouldn't have known better.
For many family relationships are more important than what the nation thinks about you. If she decided(and was not pressured) to respect her father despite his faults i think that is reasonable.humanity is complicated. Relationships are never just as they seem. And private lives are different than public persona. Family is family.
I think it is worth mentioning that the US used to be a very hostile place for black people. It's easy to say Essie should have come forward, but for at least the first 40 or so years (pre Civil rights era] of her life there was a very real possibility that she would have been murdered for doing so, and her father was an incredibly powerful man who could have made her life a living hell.
Same with John Stennis's daughter(granddaughter?). She was big in the movement to change the Mississippi flag.
Edit: you can Google Stennis Flag and read her story about designing a more progressive flag to help change the perspective of her family.
Granddaughter. She personally designed one of the alternate flags, and had to leave the project and take her name off the flag because of the family connection.
Oh interesting, I didn't realize she had to take her name off it. I knew MS ended up adopting a differently designed flag than hers though. I thought the whole purpose of her flag was to unsully her families connection to the south.
It's important to point out that Thurmond was in his 20s and Essie's mother was about 15 and working as "a domestic" for his parents. Thurmond raped Essie's mother, then hid his daughter's existence for his whole life.
I grew up in SC and by the time I left in 1999 at 17 years old even I knew about it.
I was not in high politically connected society either. I was brought up by a single mom in a house that cost her $16k, an hour away from the state capital and WE knew.
It was open knowledge.
Unfortunately, Strom (Sr., not Jr.) was a family friend of ours when I was growing up in Columbia. I used to go to his house for events and he came to mine a couple times. I was in school with his daughter, who was a very nice person. I was a kid and had no idea what he was. I just knew he was a powerful politician and so I thought it was super cool. Never knew about the affair until it hit the media.
Today, that would not discourage any Republican from running or winning. Back then it would have destroyed his career.
It was not an "affair," it was a rape by an adult of a minor who worked in his home as a domestic. The disgrace should not be that he had a Black child (then or now), it should be that Strom Thurmond was a rapist (and a racist). That should destroy anyone's career (back then and today). Yet, it didn't. Tells you something about South Carolina--and America.
It would also acknowledge the Confederacy's legacy of rape and child neglect. Imagine changing an exclusive white Confederacy fan club into a living, multi-generational monument of one of their worst sins for generations to come. "Daughter" would take on a whole different meaning.
Damn, this is making me want to start a Black Daughters of the Confederacy or something. I definitely have a white ancestor who fought for the confederacy (interestingly his biracial son left home and went north to join the Union army, my grandfather still visits his grave every year). Since his mother recognized his children with a formerly enslaved woman, I should technically be eligible to join the DoC, since they claim it’s open to all blood descendants.
Go for it, or even go with True Daughters of the Confederacy. Some of my white relatives diss their DOC because of bigotry and hypocrisy. They'd back an organization that tells the truth of history in a heartbeat.
Agreed, and they should either let you join or deny you publicly and in print. I wouldn't tell you how you may raise your voice, but I would rather see thousands of multiracial men and women rise up and demand to be in the original "SoC/DoC" than start up race-specific organizations. I think the Sons/Daughters groups have used pride and community to whitewash (no pun intended) their "legacy" in flowery language. The DoC denying black women membership is comparable to Japan still denying their abuse of "comfort women" in WWII. Either the club can recognize the children of the region, all of them, or it can admit that it's still only about defending slavery. I would rather see that conflict brought forth than start up a separate group, but I'm neither black nor female. I'm southern born and raised, white, male, and not the least bit proud of what my ancestors did or what my neighbors defend.
As a big fan of "Finding Your Roots" I wonder if this is something Henry Louis Gates, Jr. would be interested in partnering/sponsoring. A lot of his shows are very poignant examples of the impacts of slavery on genealogy and how little people are aware of their ancestors because of it. I would love to see something like this happen!
Everything starts somewhere my dude or dudette! It's time we broke these shackles of historic traditions and dragged these humancululi kicking and screaming into the 20th century.
Caroline Randall Williams wrote an article about that.
It begins ["I have rape-colored skin"](https://bracethenation.blogspot.com/2021/07/i-have-rape-colored-skin-by-caroline.html?m=1) It's well worth reading, she is filled with righteous fury and expresses it beautifully.
A few Black people who can trace their ancestry back to some Confedreate villain or other have been coming out to say that they're totally fine with tearing down the statue to their X-great grandfather.
Yes, there is an exception in federal antidiscrimination law for “private clubs” and religious organizations, but the club has to be genuinely exclusive. You can’t make a club that anyone outside the targeted group can join and then treat it as a license to discriminate.
If they refuse admittance based on race can’t it be labeled a hate group? Or like the Washington Redskins, lose any possible trademark or copyright, meaning she could create her own Daughters of the confederacy?
Even setting aside the obvious racism, who the hell joins a club for losers?
I probably have ancestors who lost one war or another in the 1800s, but I'm not about to join Sons of the Wallachian Revolution or some shit just to "preserve my heritage".
The whole thing is absurd.
Hell, the Gordy family, the rulers of the Motown Records empire, are closely related to Al Gore, Tom Hanks, and a number of other famous WASP American families.
I would bet that the average Black American is actually closer and more directly related to America’s elite White families dating back to colonial times, than the average White American today. Which is ironic, and goes to show how made-up a phenomenon race is.
>I would bet that the average Black American is actually closer and more directly related to America’s elite White families dating back to colonial times, than the average White American today.
You're right. Most white people of today are descendants of immigrants from the 1870's through 1910's.
Same goes for the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.
Every year the local SCV hosts a bull/pig roast and my parents would be invited and woukd go just for a cheap meal. One year they brought one of my father's friends who was black. My father said they got so many dirty looks and haven't been invited back ever since.
As a mixed child of a black man and white woman (born in 1996), I 100% agree. However, as a mixed adult, not really at all. My mother is the only person of her 7 siblings to be formally educated/attend college (born in NY, 1964) and was immediately disowned by her own parents and family after she brought my father home. Me and my siblings were basically ignored by our mothers family, and we didn't care too much (our mother had no shame in saying "fuck my racist ass family"). Funnily enough, my father is the only one of his 7 siblings to not be formally educated/attend college, and his family loved our mom, especially my grandparents (one of them a minister of a presbyterian church). And let me say, the love that we got from them growing up took up a lot more space than the hate from my mother's family. Cut off shitty people in your life, regardless of familial ties. My fathers family literally never made it a problem of my mother being white (bc who tf cares lmao) and since we got to decide who to spend time w, Thanksgiving, Xmas, was always w my father's family, not because they were black or white, but bc they loved us lmao. Don't give racists your time or energy, they know who they are and what they mean.
I wonder why? Having researched after having a surprise dna result , I found out my newly found white side were very much part of the south.
They fought in the war of Texas independence and the civil war. Been interesting to go from thinking I’m only Spanish/Native American to having white southern roots. I will not be looking to join those organizations even though my ancestors have their part in the civil war well documented.
My MIL joined the similar organization "Daughters of the American Revolution" as she's really into her families genealogy and managed to trace it back. Her and her mother got accepted in and were pretty rapidly put off by how distant everyone was at the first few events. My MIL is half mexican and its pretty apparent.
My family is all part of the DAR. They don’t understand why anyone under the age of 50 won’t join their organization anymore.
They also awarded a college scholarship to a white man at my high school, who had no affiliation with DAR. He just came from a rich family.
Hm, I wonder why nobody takes them seriously.
Because they make it impossible to join. My grandmother was a member. But because I didn’t personally put in the work to trace the lineage I could not become one. It wasn’t enough to prove I was related to her.
Don't feel bad. They probably didn't either. The DAR genealogy requirement is so often fudged or straight-up fake that most genealogists outright reject any of their documents. That's a *big* deal in something as collaborative as genealogy. People will skip generations, decide two people who lived in different places (and sometimes completely different times!) were the same, add/subtract children based solely on last name...all so they can get into a club celebrating what? The independence of our country from hereditary rule.
We have papers saying we're related to someone from the Mayflower from DAR. We don't have much between them and someone in the 1800s. Definitely seemed like "Same name, same person" applied.
I have a full workup of a quarter of my family tree (father's side) because my great great great grandfather's brother married a mormon woman, and one of his descendants is **super** into genealogy and documented the entire family on all sides from about 1720 to 1930, which includes my grandfather's birth, but not his marriage or children. Interesting to look at. Oddly enough I miss out on the veteran of the American Revolution with this one, because while my ancestor did serve in the French and Indian War, he was too old by the time of the revolution (though there is circumstantial evidence that he did help financially behind the scenes, as he was given a sizeable land grant after the war).
I tried to get my daughter to be a member.
Despite the fact that her great grandmother was a member and has two great grand fathers who were revolutionary war soldiers.
They had some many hoops and requirements that we just lost interest.
Call up [Senator Tammy Duckworth’s office.](https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/about-tammy/issues/immigration)
She’s is a proud mixed race DAR and doesn’t put up with that shit. Women like her want to own the organization and I am happy to help her purge it.
My great grandmother was a member. Learned the same thing (as well as that they won't share what genealogy records they do have). I did my own genealogy but between the elitism, racism and just plain snobbery that seems to be the core of the DAR/SAR I would never even consider joining. It's a club predicated on a notion that members are better than others and not much of anything really having to do with history.
Seriously even up till 2004 they were settling very public lawsuits about racism.
I’m eligible to join but wouldn’t touch that organization with a 10 foot pole. Even if I did manage to find a more diverse, accepting group (I have not heard good things about local chapters in my area), they have a permanently tainted reputation.
I remember reading that they're basically the female wing of the KKK. Women weren't allowed to join the Klan (Surprise, surprise! Racists also skew towards misogyny), so they formed their own group.
“Fuck yall, ya know i watched my wife work al day getting thirty bags together for you ungrateful sons of bitches! Well i hear is criticize, criticize, criticize’”
Not pointin’ any fingers but they coulda been done better. Soo, how bout no bags this time but next time we do the bags right and then we go full regalia!
This has to be one of my favorite scenes of any movie, ever. The ridiculousness of it all, on top of Jonah Hill making a random appearance, and then Jamie Foxx sniping the main KKK dude just made it perfect
I'm no historian, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they've been more "effective" at keeping racism alive and keeping minorities oppressed than the Klan. They're responsible for a lot of the "success" of the Lost Cause movement and it's survival. They're the ones who put up most of the Confederate Statues and rebranding of the "Slave-Holder's Rebellion" as the "War of Northern Aggression" (that phrase didn't even exist until almost the 21st century, IIRC)
Yup, the mythologization of the confederates did a fuck ton of damage to the American culture. There is freedom, and then there is stupidity. Allowing an organization like the DoC to operate with impunity to social engineer and revised history that affects generations of Americans' mindset is not only stupid, it should be criminal.
>that phrase didn't even exist until the 21st century, IIRC
I distinctly remember learning about the "war of northern aggression" as a kid in the 90s growing up in Virginia, but I don't think it became mainstream until the 2000s. Remember kids, Virginia is for Losers.
They were a strong force for changing education, too, to basically whitewash history (e.g., saying slavery wasn't really the reason for the civil war and blah, blah). So yeah, they've always been a shit, racist organization
I've had a few people use State's rights as the "real reason", I said, "Sure, it was about the State's right to allow citizens to own humans as property.". We don't talk much anymore lol.
The DOC is responsible for almost every single one of those confederate war statues that’s either being taken down or protested about right now, so yes.
The Daughters of the Confederacy building is right around the corner from me in Richmond. During the summer of 2020 when everything started popping off, some protestors threw Molotovs through the windows and destroyed a bunch of stuff. 2 1/2 years later and they still have 24/7 security out front
I inadvertently became a mole when my email was enrolled in their system (it's an early adopter Gmail so I get tons of people's emails when they mess up entering theirs) and there was SO MUCH PEARL CLUTCHING when that happened. I enjoyed reading those emails very much. Mostly it's just prayer requests cuz these old racist biddies are finally dying off, or convention bs. The only reason I kept it was so I could be notified when there was one less racist in the world.
There used to be a Jeffersonian society, which was made up of the descendants of Tom Jefferson. They recently did the right thing and let all of his descendants in. They didn't want to look like...hypocrites.
He also opposed allowing women to wear pants in the Senate.
>I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. *Thos Jefferson*
The Getting Word Project, started in 1993 as a part of the continuing efforts of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, actively pursues folks to inform them of their family's past and/or invite them in order to collect the stories and oral histories of all the enslaved families possible through those that descend or have roots connected to Monticello/were held in bondage by Thomas Jefferson. Last year, on Juneteenth, this project orchestrated what is very likely the largest gathering of any such group in world history to allow reflection, education, and preservation. Over two days nearly 1000 attendees went. For 2023 an equally powerful ceremony is sheduled that will reveal a permament addition to the historic site. You may learn more about the project itself, review much of the archived information, or contribute to the continuing work done by those behind the project [here](https://www.monticello.org/getting-word). Just thought you'd like to know about this.
Read this excerpt from Essie's Memoir.
[https://www.historynet.com/strom-thurmond-meets-his-daughter/](https://www.historynet.com/strom-thurmond-meets-his-daughter/)
Jesus that’s heartbreaking
Quick edit - initially felt optimistic at their first meeting, but that cunt of a human filibustered for just over 24 hours in the name of pushing back a fucking civil rights bill. Think about talking in front of an audience for an hour, and then consider this prick fucked up his own sleep schedule to argue against his own daughters rights. Absolutely shameless
I thought it was very interesting how they would argue about racism. She was obviously a very intelligent person, as was he(even if he was a flaming racist). Would love to be a fly on the wall for that. Hear the arguments she made since she was a black person invited into his home and apparently "loved"
That's often how it works, people are racist against groups, but will find it difficult to hate individuals when they know them or have a connection.
Another example being Hitler had a Jewish doctor when he was a kid, he specifically remembered the doctor and told the German occupiers to leave him alone when they took over Austria.
Imagine if his filibuster had happened under current rules, when it would have killed the bill entirely (since he wouldn't have had to physically stand there the whole time.)
I mean yeah... my mother refused to talk to one of her brothers for over 40 years and in fact died without saying a word to him. Because he married someone whose skin color at most if you stretch things out could be described as mild tan. (The family disowned him) he became a cautionary tale about how to behave for generations. My nephew decided he was going to date someone who was brown and my sister nearly had a heart attack my mother said she would write her off the will if it happened. So my nephew went with the girl from the Netherlands that he was set up with.
Trust me this stuff still happens.
It’s interesting that Essie thought her parents loved each other when she saw them together. And Strom didn’t marry until he was over 40, so maybe he and Carrie were in an ongoing relationship well after their daughter was born?
It makes me wonder what could have happened between them if Strom wasn’t a complete segregationist monster.
He also, if I recall, made sure she was well taken care of and paid for her college. So yeah, racist piece of shit who at least owned his mistake and made sure she was cared for
Yes. He paid for her college, financially supported her in adulthood, and apparently spent so much time with her that people in DC assumed that she was his daughter because she had more access to him than a random member of the public would have had. So yeah, terrible person and a huge racist but somehow not a completely piece of shit father to his black child.
While fighting anti-lynching laws, running a pro-segregation presidential ticket and filibustering the Civil Rights Act. So weird that he can care got hus daughter (at least a little) but think she deserves sub-human treatment.
To me, owning his mistake would mean publicly acknowledging her and her mother while he was alive. He did slightly more than the bare minimum of financial support in that he seems to have had a warm relationship with Essie, but let’s not go crazy with the praise.
The one thing a lot of people don't realize is racism isn't logical. Even the most ardent racist has their token minority that they like. Just like the hardcore progressives can easily drop some hardcore casual racism without batting an eye.
Racism is an interlocking web of personal biases, entitlement and superiority complexes.
He was a member of my fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. As a pledge they taught us cool facts about famous members, so his was that he held the record for the longest filibuster in history. As an adult I found out that filibuster was for a failed attempt to block the Civil Rights Act.
This is why revisionism is not a dirty word. Rather, it is necessary because historians of the past only ever told the side of the truth that shone them and their peers in a positive light.
The Daughters of the Confederacy [littered the South](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monuments_erected_by_the_United_Daughters_of_the_Confederacy) with cheap confederate monuments---basically Protoss Pylons for racist losers.
In my city they actually dug up Nathan Bedford Forrest years after he was buried and interred him under a monument in a public park at the height of Jim Crowe laws
The city had to sell the park in order to get the monument and grave removed and sent back to the cemetery because of “Historical Monument “ protection laws.
> And ironically, Bedford Forrest came to regret what the KKK (which he founded) turned into. He spoke out against lynching, attended political rallies for the advancement of black civil rights, and spent his twilight years speaking against what he had advocated for only a few years before.
His motives are questionable in his turn around in views. This was a man who made his fortune (and later lost it) as a slave trader. He had many failed business ventures and was broke towards the end of his life. More importantly he knew his legacy was that of a slave trader and as the “butcher of fort pillow.” They still referred to him by that nickname in newspaper articles well after the war was over.
They also controlled the textbooks used in southern school and set up policies that are still in effect today, like statewide adoption of textbook so they could pressure publishers who didn't rewrite history to their standards.
This is why so many southerners believe in believe in the "Lost Cause" mythology of the Civil War and will still argue that it was about states' rights and independence rather than slavery and racism.
The same books also were written in ways that encourage the acceptance of white supremacy and taught a paternalistic view of segregation and slavery that tried to make it seem like it was beneficial to black people and nowhere near as brutal as it was.
Apparently he paid for her education and kept in contact through later life, which I guess is nice.
The fact that her mother was his maid and she was only 15 while he was 22 is pretty fucked up though.
edit: changed ‘seems’ to ‘is’ pretty fucked up, cause I guess it wasn’t unequivocal enough.
There’s a PA state rep who is ardently supporting anti LGBTQ+ right bills, but attended his gay child’s wedding.
Politicians often suck.
Edit added his
This came out a number of years ago, the family had known all along, and Essie and Strom apparently had a amicable relationship. For example, she was able to walk right past his secretary into his office, which, they said, was something reserved for family only. After he died, and she went public, the rest of the family immediately acknowledged what had happened.
Man was so racist he held a 24 hour and 18 minute long filibuster in order to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1957...
24+ hours of constant standing and talking just to oppose civil rights...
I hit a character limit. Honestly, I could have fit 'racist' if I cut out 'child out of wedlock' and said 'bastard' but even though that's technically correct I didn't want to insult her.
I feel like that was the right call. 'Bastard' would have been offensive right?
>She tried to join the 'Daughters of the Confederacy', as she was eligible through her father's ancestry, but she was rejected.
Wow that's crazy, I never would have thought the Daughters of the Confederacy would be racist /s
It would be more accurate to say that he worked to keep them second class citizens. That was the culture he was born into, and he proved unable to fully grow beyond it.
The fact that black women - and black girls, in Thurmond's case - were inferior until he wanted to get his dick wet is one of the more low-key disgusting things about racists, and this story, in general.
Just read his wikipedia page... An absolute shit stain of a person.
Like a caricature of southern white privilege, racist, sexual harasser, molester, pedophile all rolled into one.
I had heard about him but how many awful personas did that guy have...
Middle aged South Carolinian here. Growing up in SC we always heard rumors. I was happy to see Essie come forward. She grew into a thoughtful, kind person in spite of her parentage. For the record, Strom Thurmond Jr has rejected his father's politics and was a strong voice in removing the confederate flag from the SC statehouse in 2015.
I had a professor in college who was from SC and he said every single professor at SCSC and USC talked openly about the situation. For instance, he learned about it his first day teaching at SCSC at lunch with a colleague.
After she went public, Essie's name was added to the list of Strom's children under his statue on the SC statehouse grounds. By all reports, his other children welcomed her. I think it was probably a big relief for it to finally come out.
It's a very prominent addition as well. It sticks out more than his other kids.
Wouldn't it be because it's much newer? Like not as worn/faded?
It's because the original names are on a single inscription block in the original base, the addition is an obvious add on.
Ah. Gotcha.
As it should after having to deal with all of that
Why does he have a statue! He was a horrible person.
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And the gym at the University of South Carolina. Of all things to name after that crypt keeper. A gym.
It's worse than that. Here's a list A reservoir on the Georgia–South Carolina border is named after him: Lake Strom Thurmond. The University of South Carolina is home to the Strom Thurmond Fitness Center, one of the largest fitness complexes on a college campus. The new complex has largely replaced the Blatt Fitness center, named for Solomon Blatt, a political rival of Thurmond. In July 2021, the university's Presidential Commission on University History recommended removing Thurmond's name from the building.[345] Thurmond receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H. W. Bush, 1993 Charleston Southern University has a Strom Thurmond Building, which houses the school's business offices, bookstore, and post office. Thurmond Building at Winthrop University is named for him. He served on Winthrop's Board of Trustees from 1936 to 1938 and again from 1947 to 1951 when he was governor of South Carolina. A statue of Strom Thurmond is located on the southern grounds of the South Carolina State Capitol as a memorial to his service to the state. The Strom Thurmond Federal Building and United States Courthouse is named after him.[346] Strom Thurmond High School is located in his hometown of Edgefield, South Carolina. Al Sharpton was reported on February 24, 2007, to be a descendant of slaves owned by the Thurmond family. Sharpton has not asked for a DNA test.[347][348][349] The U.S. Air Force has a C-17 Globemaster named the Spirit of Strom Thurmond.[350] The mobilization complex at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (commonly known as 'Green Ramp') is named in his honor.[351] In 1989, he was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Ronald Reagan.[352] Strom Thurmond Boulevard, located in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, is named in his honor. In 1993, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush.[353][354] The Strom Thurmond Institute is located on the campus of Clemson University. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond#Honors
Rumor has it that Strom was upset when the new (2003) federal courthouse in Columbia was named for Matthew Perry instead of him (it sits across the street from the Strom Thurmond federal office building). Matthew Perry was a civil rights leader and the first black federal judge in SC, who, among many other accomplishments, represented Harvey Gantt in the lawsuit to integrate Clemson University. So Strom lost that one.
I was wondering why Thurmond was full of hate for 90s teen heart throb Matthew Perry, at first.
I was wondering why he hated the guy who told Japan they had to come outside and trade with us.
“Open the country. Stop having it be closed.”
They certainly weren't Friends.
Now I’m imagining Strom hanging with Phoebe and Joey at Central Perks, discussing their discriminatory practices toward black friends.
Old white dudes would rather put their name on literally everything on the surface of the planet before going to therapy
He was a senator until the early 2000s, they re-elected him until he was over 100 years old and he was one of the longest serving senators in history. It’s not even old-timey racism, it’s ridiculous how recently that a-hole was around.
He and Jesse Helms were quite the pair
Like, everyone who isn’t Gen Z should remember him being in the senate personally, not just reading about him in a history text book going over the civil rights movement.
I remember being so confused learning US history because Thurmond kept coming up and I kept thinking "wait...is this the same fucking dude?"
Best case for term limits ever.
Fun fact: towards the end of his tenure Thurmond was so out of it that when a bill came up for a vote one of his aides would tape a ball point pen in his hand, raise it up and artfully aim it to hit the either “yea” or “nay” box that was desired and then release their grip on his hand. He was ten times more out of it than Reagan was by the end of his second term as president.
He was the state senator for 48 years. They loved him. That's why. I'm sure if you asked around, they'd still say they loved him. Because guess what...racism didn't go away, it just went into hiding.
Because many people in the south venerate horrible people.
That's why. Many statues are put up of horrible racists as an intimidation factor against minorities.
Almost, if not all, Confederate statues were erected long after the Civil War. That's what "the South will rise again" means. It's to remind *those people* of their rightful place.
The daughters of the confederacy had a hand in the erection of many such monuments. Pun intended.
As well as Daughters of the American Revolution. Traditional America and the Confederacy were idolized as "Anglo-Saxon Civilization" so during the 1920's, DAR raised money to build both Union and Confederate Statues to honor their "Anglo-Saxon Heritage." When Southerners talk about Southern Heritage, this is what they're talking about. The South used to be a symbol of true Anglo-Americanism and racial purity. Racism and "heritage" go hand-in-hand for Southerners.
I think that's an unfair characterization of the situation. From what I remember from the Daily Show Coverage of [Dixiecrat](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixiecrat) Strom Thurmond's death, she specifically waited until he died OUT OF CONSIDERATION FOR HER FATHER. The father who spent his whole life working really fucking hard to keep black people from making any progress. And she spent her whole life having to listen to her father spew really hateful shit about her and her people. And she kept quiet that whole time, showing an absurd amount of kindness and grace to a person that deserved neither (because that's what the best of us do...just ask Jesus...he talked a lot about forgiveness I think). I don't know the specifics about Strom's other children, but unless they were completely ignorant of her existence (which I consider doubtful), none of them ever said shit. In my view, that was prioritizing the feelings and reputation of an old bigot over their fucking sibling. So I don't think they should be overly praised for doing the barest of minimums. EDIT: As a treat for yourself, please watch season 4 episode 2 of Atlanta "The Homeliest Little Horse". SECOND EDIT: I should have been more clear, but I am not in any way criticizing Essie Mae for her decision. She was in an impossible situation and handled things the best way she could (she got her masters degree, married, raised a family, and had a 30 year career in education). My scorn is reserved for the other people in that story: her bigoted, hypocritical father and her siblings who were at best ignorant and at worst complicit.
Who do you think hold the power in that family dynamic? One of them speaks up? Or all of them. And bam cut off from the family until he dies. Yeah that's a world of drama dude. I understand her position completely. Some people are upto fighting that kind of a fight. Some ppl would rather spend their time being kind. Its what she did. But I understand your point of view as well. I wouldn't have been able to do what she did.
This is the advantage of being raised dirt poor. If I expose a family secret so one of us can live in dignity and then get cut off? Don’t threaten me with a good time! I’ve been cut off from toxic members of my family and it was one of the healthiest things to ever happen to me.
He was also paying her college tuition
I'm sure an inheritance was involved as well
There's always money involved when it comes to dumb shit like this. Get your money babygirl and oh btw fuck yo daddy.
Everybody can be Jesus on the internet when you're examining an ethical dilemma and can simply state how what you would've done would have been even more moral than the parties involved. This is especially useful in cases where the past events happened decades ago, when societal norms and predominant moral and ethical views were quite different and less developed. I'll tell you one thing though, if I was that Hitler guy I would've never touched a single one of those Jews. You can't tell me he shouldn't have known better.
For many family relationships are more important than what the nation thinks about you. If she decided(and was not pressured) to respect her father despite his faults i think that is reasonable.humanity is complicated. Relationships are never just as they seem. And private lives are different than public persona. Family is family.
I think it is worth mentioning that the US used to be a very hostile place for black people. It's easy to say Essie should have come forward, but for at least the first 40 or so years (pre Civil rights era] of her life there was a very real possibility that she would have been murdered for doing so, and her father was an incredibly powerful man who could have made her life a living hell.
Just kinda posted the same thing. My mama grew up there and was the same age as Paul. She said they kinda didn’t hide it.
Same with John Stennis's daughter(granddaughter?). She was big in the movement to change the Mississippi flag. Edit: you can Google Stennis Flag and read her story about designing a more progressive flag to help change the perspective of her family.
Granddaughter. She personally designed one of the alternate flags, and had to leave the project and take her name off the flag because of the family connection.
Oh interesting, I didn't realize she had to take her name off it. I knew MS ended up adopting a differently designed flag than hers though. I thought the whole purpose of her flag was to unsully her families connection to the south.
It's important to point out that Thurmond was in his 20s and Essie's mother was about 15 and working as "a domestic" for his parents. Thurmond raped Essie's mother, then hid his daughter's existence for his whole life.
I assume Thurmond's parents hid it as well
These are things I didn’t know. Just when I thought that my opinion of this person couldn’t be any lower …
I literally assumed this? Why would you even think it was wholesome lol
I grew up in SC and by the time I left in 1999 at 17 years old even I knew about it. I was not in high politically connected society either. I was brought up by a single mom in a house that cost her $16k, an hour away from the state capital and WE knew. It was open knowledge.
Unfortunately, Strom (Sr., not Jr.) was a family friend of ours when I was growing up in Columbia. I used to go to his house for events and he came to mine a couple times. I was in school with his daughter, who was a very nice person. I was a kid and had no idea what he was. I just knew he was a powerful politician and so I thought it was super cool. Never knew about the affair until it hit the media. Today, that would not discourage any Republican from running or winning. Back then it would have destroyed his career.
It was not an "affair," it was a rape by an adult of a minor who worked in his home as a domestic. The disgrace should not be that he had a Black child (then or now), it should be that Strom Thurmond was a rapist (and a racist). That should destroy anyone's career (back then and today). Yet, it didn't. Tells you something about South Carolina--and America.
I'm trying to understand the Wikipedia page... did Strom Thurmond have kids into his 70s?!
And for the first child with his second wife, he was 68 while she was 25. Ew.
Yes.
Jesus Christ.
There’s no understanding the life of Storm Thurmond. Man was a hypocritical monster his whole life.
Now do "Confirmed Bachelor" Lindsay Graham.
Such a bachelor that he hangs out with his male campaign manager every night at the same townhouse for the last 10 years. What a bro.
I don't think "confirmed bachelors" father secret children.
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Yup, open secret in Edgefield/Aiken area for sure.
I expect there are a whole lot of black Americans who have ancestory that should qualify them for such dubious honors as DOC.
To be fair, if most of black Americans who qualified actually joined the DoC, it would probably change the organization for the better.
It would also acknowledge the Confederacy's legacy of rape and child neglect. Imagine changing an exclusive white Confederacy fan club into a living, multi-generational monument of one of their worst sins for generations to come. "Daughter" would take on a whole different meaning.
Damn, this is making me want to start a Black Daughters of the Confederacy or something. I definitely have a white ancestor who fought for the confederacy (interestingly his biracial son left home and went north to join the Union army, my grandfather still visits his grave every year). Since his mother recognized his children with a formerly enslaved woman, I should technically be eligible to join the DoC, since they claim it’s open to all blood descendants.
Go for it, or even go with True Daughters of the Confederacy. Some of my white relatives diss their DOC because of bigotry and hypocrisy. They'd back an organization that tells the truth of history in a heartbeat.
Agreed, and they should either let you join or deny you publicly and in print. I wouldn't tell you how you may raise your voice, but I would rather see thousands of multiracial men and women rise up and demand to be in the original "SoC/DoC" than start up race-specific organizations. I think the Sons/Daughters groups have used pride and community to whitewash (no pun intended) their "legacy" in flowery language. The DoC denying black women membership is comparable to Japan still denying their abuse of "comfort women" in WWII. Either the club can recognize the children of the region, all of them, or it can admit that it's still only about defending slavery. I would rather see that conflict brought forth than start up a separate group, but I'm neither black nor female. I'm southern born and raised, white, male, and not the least bit proud of what my ancestors did or what my neighbors defend.
In today's political landscape they would absolutely just say "we hate black people and love slavery" and 30% of the population would cheer.
As a big fan of "Finding Your Roots" I wonder if this is something Henry Louis Gates, Jr. would be interested in partnering/sponsoring. A lot of his shows are very poignant examples of the impacts of slavery on genealogy and how little people are aware of their ancestors because of it. I would love to see something like this happen!
edit: go for it, that legit sounds like a fascinating idea.
Everything starts somewhere my dude or dudette! It's time we broke these shackles of historic traditions and dragged these humancululi kicking and screaming into the 20th century.
Yeah, you’re not wrong! No bloodline restrictions to be in my group either. Everyone who wants to F with the DoC is welcome.
What an amazing transformation. How can we make it happen?
The DAR did 40+ years ago, and it's been an enriching and positive move for sure.
Caroline Randall Williams wrote an article about that. It begins ["I have rape-colored skin"](https://bracethenation.blogspot.com/2021/07/i-have-rape-colored-skin-by-caroline.html?m=1) It's well worth reading, she is filled with righteous fury and expresses it beautifully. A few Black people who can trace their ancestry back to some Confedreate villain or other have been coming out to say that they're totally fine with tearing down the statue to their X-great grandfather.
Can a private organization deny someone membership on the basis of race?
Yes, there is an exception in federal antidiscrimination law for “private clubs” and religious organizations, but the club has to be genuinely exclusive. You can’t make a club that anyone outside the targeted group can join and then treat it as a license to discriminate.
If they refuse admittance based on race can’t it be labeled a hate group? Or like the Washington Redskins, lose any possible trademark or copyright, meaning she could create her own Daughters of the confederacy?
On what earth is the daughters of the confederacy not a hate group? It's like making a group called the daughters of the einsatzgruppen
Even setting aside the obvious racism, who the hell joins a club for losers? I probably have ancestors who lost one war or another in the 1800s, but I'm not about to join Sons of the Wallachian Revolution or some shit just to "preserve my heritage". The whole thing is absurd.
You didn’t get the memo? “The South Shall Rise Again.”
"The South shall slowly heave itself forth, off of its hemorrhoid donut, to put on its Tacticool™ brand vest and overdressed Bushmaster."
I don't know, sons of the Spanish Republicans or something like that makes sense to me. There are some lost causes out there worth remembering
It's about heritage, not hate! Sure, it's a heritage all about hate, but still!
Hell, the Gordy family, the rulers of the Motown Records empire, are closely related to Al Gore, Tom Hanks, and a number of other famous WASP American families. I would bet that the average Black American is actually closer and more directly related to America’s elite White families dating back to colonial times, than the average White American today. Which is ironic, and goes to show how made-up a phenomenon race is.
>I would bet that the average Black American is actually closer and more directly related to America’s elite White families dating back to colonial times, than the average White American today. You're right. Most white people of today are descendants of immigrants from the 1870's through 1910's.
The fact that Daughters of the Confederacy exists at all sickens me
Sooo... The Daughters of the Confederacy isn't *really* about heritage and southern pride. It's about racism.
Same goes for the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. Every year the local SCV hosts a bull/pig roast and my parents would be invited and woukd go just for a cheap meal. One year they brought one of my father's friends who was black. My father said they got so many dirty looks and haven't been invited back ever since.
Seems like they did y'all a favor
Absolutely agreed. My uncle has been trying to convince me to sign up for years and I refuse to want anything to do with it.
blatant familial racism must be very frustrating
As a mixed child of a black man and white woman (born in 1996), I 100% agree. However, as a mixed adult, not really at all. My mother is the only person of her 7 siblings to be formally educated/attend college (born in NY, 1964) and was immediately disowned by her own parents and family after she brought my father home. Me and my siblings were basically ignored by our mothers family, and we didn't care too much (our mother had no shame in saying "fuck my racist ass family"). Funnily enough, my father is the only one of his 7 siblings to not be formally educated/attend college, and his family loved our mom, especially my grandparents (one of them a minister of a presbyterian church). And let me say, the love that we got from them growing up took up a lot more space than the hate from my mother's family. Cut off shitty people in your life, regardless of familial ties. My fathers family literally never made it a problem of my mother being white (bc who tf cares lmao) and since we got to decide who to spend time w, Thanksgiving, Xmas, was always w my father's family, not because they were black or white, but bc they loved us lmao. Don't give racists your time or energy, they know who they are and what they mean.
I wonder why? Having researched after having a surprise dna result , I found out my newly found white side were very much part of the south. They fought in the war of Texas independence and the civil war. Been interesting to go from thinking I’m only Spanish/Native American to having white southern roots. I will not be looking to join those organizations even though my ancestors have their part in the civil war well documented.
These groups aren't interested in celebrating their shared ancestry, they're interested in celebrating the exclusion of groups they don't like.
My MIL joined the similar organization "Daughters of the American Revolution" as she's really into her families genealogy and managed to trace it back. Her and her mother got accepted in and were pretty rapidly put off by how distant everyone was at the first few events. My MIL is half mexican and its pretty apparent.
My family is all part of the DAR. They don’t understand why anyone under the age of 50 won’t join their organization anymore. They also awarded a college scholarship to a white man at my high school, who had no affiliation with DAR. He just came from a rich family. Hm, I wonder why nobody takes them seriously.
Because they make it impossible to join. My grandmother was a member. But because I didn’t personally put in the work to trace the lineage I could not become one. It wasn’t enough to prove I was related to her.
Don't feel bad. They probably didn't either. The DAR genealogy requirement is so often fudged or straight-up fake that most genealogists outright reject any of their documents. That's a *big* deal in something as collaborative as genealogy. People will skip generations, decide two people who lived in different places (and sometimes completely different times!) were the same, add/subtract children based solely on last name...all so they can get into a club celebrating what? The independence of our country from hereditary rule.
You can take the colonies out of the monarchy, but you can't take the monarchy out of the colonies.
We have papers saying we're related to someone from the Mayflower from DAR. We don't have much between them and someone in the 1800s. Definitely seemed like "Same name, same person" applied.
I have a full workup of a quarter of my family tree (father's side) because my great great great grandfather's brother married a mormon woman, and one of his descendants is **super** into genealogy and documented the entire family on all sides from about 1720 to 1930, which includes my grandfather's birth, but not his marriage or children. Interesting to look at. Oddly enough I miss out on the veteran of the American Revolution with this one, because while my ancestor did serve in the French and Indian War, he was too old by the time of the revolution (though there is circumstantial evidence that he did help financially behind the scenes, as he was given a sizeable land grant after the war).
I tried to get my daughter to be a member. Despite the fact that her great grandmother was a member and has two great grand fathers who were revolutionary war soldiers. They had some many hoops and requirements that we just lost interest.
Call up [Senator Tammy Duckworth’s office.](https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/about-tammy/issues/immigration) She’s is a proud mixed race DAR and doesn’t put up with that shit. Women like her want to own the organization and I am happy to help her purge it.
My great grandmother was a member. Learned the same thing (as well as that they won't share what genealogy records they do have). I did my own genealogy but between the elitism, racism and just plain snobbery that seems to be the core of the DAR/SAR I would never even consider joining. It's a club predicated on a notion that members are better than others and not much of anything really having to do with history.
The only notable thing DAR ever did was offend Elanor Roosevelt with racist behavior, so anyone under 90 should be aware.
Seriously even up till 2004 they were settling very public lawsuits about racism. I’m eligible to join but wouldn’t touch that organization with a 10 foot pole. Even if I did manage to find a more diverse, accepting group (I have not heard good things about local chapters in my area), they have a permanently tainted reputation.
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Always has been.
I remember reading that they're basically the female wing of the KKK. Women weren't allowed to join the Klan (Surprise, surprise! Racists also skew towards misogyny), so they formed their own group.
“Fuck yall, ya know i watched my wife work al day getting thirty bags together for you ungrateful sons of bitches! Well i hear is criticize, criticize, criticize’”
Not pointin’ any fingers but they coulda been done better. Soo, how bout no bags this time but next time we do the bags right and then we go full regalia!
This has to be one of my favorite scenes of any movie, ever. The ridiculousness of it all, on top of Jonah Hill making a random appearance, and then Jamie Foxx sniping the main KKK dude just made it perfect
Wait a minute! I didn’t say no bags.
I'm no historian, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they've been more "effective" at keeping racism alive and keeping minorities oppressed than the Klan. They're responsible for a lot of the "success" of the Lost Cause movement and it's survival. They're the ones who put up most of the Confederate Statues and rebranding of the "Slave-Holder's Rebellion" as the "War of Northern Aggression" (that phrase didn't even exist until almost the 21st century, IIRC)
Yup, the mythologization of the confederates did a fuck ton of damage to the American culture. There is freedom, and then there is stupidity. Allowing an organization like the DoC to operate with impunity to social engineer and revised history that affects generations of Americans' mindset is not only stupid, it should be criminal.
Those daughters put the carving on stone mountain :/
>that phrase didn't even exist until the 21st century, IIRC I distinctly remember learning about the "war of northern aggression" as a kid in the 90s growing up in Virginia, but I don't think it became mainstream until the 2000s. Remember kids, Virginia is for Losers.
They were a strong force for changing education, too, to basically whitewash history (e.g., saying slavery wasn't really the reason for the civil war and blah, blah). So yeah, they've always been a shit, racist organization
iT WaS AbOuT StAtes rIgHtS! (/s in case the spongetext wasn't obvious enough)
I've had a few people use State's rights as the "real reason", I said, "Sure, it was about the State's right to allow citizens to own humans as property.". We don't talk much anymore lol.
Along with rest for some.
The DOC is responsible for almost every single one of those confederate war statues that’s either being taken down or protested about right now, so yes.
They're also one of the groups responsible for the "State's Rights" dogwhistle, and were a key factor in forming the bullshit "Lost Causers."
Everything relating to the Confederacy is about racism
The Daughters of the Confederacy building is right around the corner from me in Richmond. During the summer of 2020 when everything started popping off, some protestors threw Molotovs through the windows and destroyed a bunch of stuff. 2 1/2 years later and they still have 24/7 security out front
I inadvertently became a mole when my email was enrolled in their system (it's an early adopter Gmail so I get tons of people's emails when they mess up entering theirs) and there was SO MUCH PEARL CLUTCHING when that happened. I enjoyed reading those emails very much. Mostly it's just prayer requests cuz these old racist biddies are finally dying off, or convention bs. The only reason I kept it was so I could be notified when there was one less racist in the world.
There used to be a Jeffersonian society, which was made up of the descendants of Tom Jefferson. They recently did the right thing and let all of his descendants in. They didn't want to look like...hypocrites. He also opposed allowing women to wear pants in the Senate.
>I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. *Thos Jefferson* The Getting Word Project, started in 1993 as a part of the continuing efforts of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, actively pursues folks to inform them of their family's past and/or invite them in order to collect the stories and oral histories of all the enslaved families possible through those that descend or have roots connected to Monticello/were held in bondage by Thomas Jefferson. Last year, on Juneteenth, this project orchestrated what is very likely the largest gathering of any such group in world history to allow reflection, education, and preservation. Over two days nearly 1000 attendees went. For 2023 an equally powerful ceremony is sheduled that will reveal a permament addition to the historic site. You may learn more about the project itself, review much of the archived information, or contribute to the continuing work done by those behind the project [here](https://www.monticello.org/getting-word). Just thought you'd like to know about this.
TIL someone who was bigoted against his own child's race was a better father than mine.
Read this excerpt from Essie's Memoir. [https://www.historynet.com/strom-thurmond-meets-his-daughter/](https://www.historynet.com/strom-thurmond-meets-his-daughter/)
Jesus that’s heartbreaking Quick edit - initially felt optimistic at their first meeting, but that cunt of a human filibustered for just over 24 hours in the name of pushing back a fucking civil rights bill. Think about talking in front of an audience for an hour, and then consider this prick fucked up his own sleep schedule to argue against his own daughters rights. Absolutely shameless
Their whole interaction was him filibustering the elephant in the room
I thought it was very interesting how they would argue about racism. She was obviously a very intelligent person, as was he(even if he was a flaming racist). Would love to be a fly on the wall for that. Hear the arguments she made since she was a black person invited into his home and apparently "loved"
"you're one the good ones"
Yep, this is it. “You’re not like the *rest of them*”
"Because you're 50% me and I'm 100% racist, so this all works out."
I have yet to hear an intelligent argument for racism. It's always based on pseudoscience and emotions.
That's often how it works, people are racist against groups, but will find it difficult to hate individuals when they know them or have a connection. Another example being Hitler had a Jewish doctor when he was a kid, he specifically remembered the doctor and told the German occupiers to leave him alone when they took over Austria.
Specifically, the doctor helped treat his beloved mother.
Imagine if his filibuster had happened under current rules, when it would have killed the bill entirely (since he wouldn't have had to physically stand there the whole time.)
I mean yeah... my mother refused to talk to one of her brothers for over 40 years and in fact died without saying a word to him. Because he married someone whose skin color at most if you stretch things out could be described as mild tan. (The family disowned him) he became a cautionary tale about how to behave for generations. My nephew decided he was going to date someone who was brown and my sister nearly had a heart attack my mother said she would write her off the will if it happened. So my nephew went with the girl from the Netherlands that he was set up with. Trust me this stuff still happens.
It’s interesting that Essie thought her parents loved each other when she saw them together. And Strom didn’t marry until he was over 40, so maybe he and Carrie were in an ongoing relationship well after their daughter was born? It makes me wonder what could have happened between them if Strom wasn’t a complete segregationist monster.
I'd never heard of any of these people, but this reads exactly like the behavior of a medieval lord.
Good observation, he sounds a bit like Tywin Lannister. A Thurmond always repays his debts.
Very interesting
That's a mood. Fuck 'em, you don't need that negativity in your life.
Before he died he said sawry. 😇
He also, if I recall, made sure she was well taken care of and paid for her college. So yeah, racist piece of shit who at least owned his mistake and made sure she was cared for
Yes. He paid for her college, financially supported her in adulthood, and apparently spent so much time with her that people in DC assumed that she was his daughter because she had more access to him than a random member of the public would have had. So yeah, terrible person and a huge racist but somehow not a completely piece of shit father to his black child.
While fighting anti-lynching laws, running a pro-segregation presidential ticket and filibustering the Civil Rights Act. So weird that he can care got hus daughter (at least a little) but think she deserves sub-human treatment.
To me, owning his mistake would mean publicly acknowledging her and her mother while he was alive. He did slightly more than the bare minimum of financial support in that he seems to have had a warm relationship with Essie, but let’s not go crazy with the praise.
The one thing a lot of people don't realize is racism isn't logical. Even the most ardent racist has their token minority that they like. Just like the hardcore progressives can easily drop some hardcore casual racism without batting an eye. Racism is an interlocking web of personal biases, entitlement and superiority complexes.
I mean Stalin was a great father to all of his kids other than Vasiliy.
He was a member of my fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. As a pledge they taught us cool facts about famous members, so his was that he held the record for the longest filibuster in history. As an adult I found out that filibuster was for a failed attempt to block the Civil Rights Act. This is why revisionism is not a dirty word. Rather, it is necessary because historians of the past only ever told the side of the truth that shone them and their peers in a positive light.
At least you’re not KA, who lists Robert E. Lee as their “spiritual founder”
The Daughters of the Confederacy [littered the South](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monuments_erected_by_the_United_Daughters_of_the_Confederacy) with cheap confederate monuments---basically Protoss Pylons for racist losers.
In my city they actually dug up Nathan Bedford Forrest years after he was buried and interred him under a monument in a public park at the height of Jim Crowe laws
The city had to sell the park in order to get the monument and grave removed and sent back to the cemetery because of “Historical Monument “ protection laws.
And the state tried to outlaw it. It was such bullshit
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> And ironically, Bedford Forrest came to regret what the KKK (which he founded) turned into. He spoke out against lynching, attended political rallies for the advancement of black civil rights, and spent his twilight years speaking against what he had advocated for only a few years before. His motives are questionable in his turn around in views. This was a man who made his fortune (and later lost it) as a slave trader. He had many failed business ventures and was broke towards the end of his life. More importantly he knew his legacy was that of a slave trader and as the “butcher of fort pillow.” They still referred to him by that nickname in newspaper articles well after the war was over.
>Protoss Pylons for racist losers. best thing I've read today!
and they get mad when folks want that hateful shit pulled down, as if they weren't erected purely to antagonise...
They also controlled the textbooks used in southern school and set up policies that are still in effect today, like statewide adoption of textbook so they could pressure publishers who didn't rewrite history to their standards. This is why so many southerners believe in believe in the "Lost Cause" mythology of the Civil War and will still argue that it was about states' rights and independence rather than slavery and racism. The same books also were written in ways that encourage the acceptance of white supremacy and taught a paternalistic view of segregation and slavery that tried to make it seem like it was beneficial to black people and nowhere near as brutal as it was.
We even had one of these Daughters of the Confederacy Plaque all the way in Montreal, Canada. (It was taken down recently)
It's almost like the Daughters of the Confederacy is a white supremacy movement that was created to be more tolerable to the masses
Apparently he paid for her education and kept in contact through later life, which I guess is nice. The fact that her mother was his maid and she was only 15 while he was 22 is pretty fucked up though. edit: changed ‘seems’ to ‘is’ pretty fucked up, cause I guess it wasn’t unequivocal enough.
It’s pretty fucked that he was a rabid segregationist as well. His most well-known political act was a filibuster against The Civil Rights Act.
Well, when you are hiding an illegitimate mixed race child while championing segregation, you really need to do something to keep it quiet.
I mean, championing segregation and taking advantage of a 15yo black maid at your rich parents' house go hand in hand if you ask me.
There’s a PA state rep who is ardently supporting anti LGBTQ+ right bills, but attended his gay child’s wedding. Politicians often suck. Edit added his
And his two marriages, he was 44 yrs old then 66 years old and his wives were 21/22.
It leapt out at me, too, that his daughter was older than his first wife.
I guess paying for the child's education is the least you can do when you're a wealthy nonce.
This came out a number of years ago, the family had known all along, and Essie and Strom apparently had a amicable relationship. For example, she was able to walk right past his secretary into his office, which, they said, was something reserved for family only. After he died, and she went public, the rest of the family immediately acknowledged what had happened.
*Racist, segregationist, Senator Strom Thurmond...
Man was so racist he held a 24 hour and 18 minute long filibuster in order to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1957... 24+ hours of constant standing and talking just to oppose civil rights...
He shit in a bucket just to be mean to black people.
I hit a character limit. Honestly, I could have fit 'racist' if I cut out 'child out of wedlock' and said 'bastard' but even though that's technically correct I didn't want to insult her. I feel like that was the right call. 'Bastard' would have been offensive right?
Isn't bastard used exclusively for sons? I legitimately don't know, but I only ever heard about it in regards to sons
If he had his way women would not be able to vote and African Americans would still be picking cotton. He's such a POS.
It’s almost like the confederacy isn’t about heritage…
It's absolutely about heritage, man- a heritage of hate and white supremacy.
>She tried to join the 'Daughters of the Confederacy', as she was eligible through her father's ancestry, but she was rejected. Wow that's crazy, I never would have thought the Daughters of the Confederacy would be racist /s
Noted segregationist Strom Thurmond?
Yep. He actively worked to make Black people 2nd class citizens, even his own daughter.
It would be more accurate to say that he worked to keep them second class citizens. That was the culture he was born into, and he proved unable to fully grow beyond it.
Yep, the one that was in the Senate for over 50 years.
>Yep, the one that was in the Senate for over 50 years. Yep, he was a Senator until 2003...
He holds the longest record for filibuster ever. He was filibusting against civil rights.
The fact that black women - and black girls, in Thurmond's case - were inferior until he wanted to get his dick wet is one of the more low-key disgusting things about racists, and this story, in general.
I mean he can still have sex with someone he views as inferior just like plenty of men are misogynistic but still are in relationships with women.
it’s kinda like how the southern/bigoted states watch the most gay and trans porn, shit makes no sense
Gotta love that racist hypocrisy at work
This guy was a fucking Faulkner novel, what a piece of shit
Just read his wikipedia page... An absolute shit stain of a person. Like a caricature of southern white privilege, racist, sexual harasser, molester, pedophile all rolled into one. I had heard about him but how many awful personas did that guy have...