Strom Thurmond's Black Daughter (MSN.com nastiness alert!)

msn.com ^ | July 1, 2003 | Diane McWhorter

[ErnBatavia]

Maxine Waters?

I think that could be true...there was even a movie made: "The Bad Seed"

[Wordsmith]

Too bad interracial marriage was outlawed in the South. Makes you wonder why in the first place.

Bump. ;-)

[happygrl]

The article is not well written, but it is indicating that the Dixiecrats were a Democratic Party alternative to the Marxist road down which FDR was leading the nation. It is also implying that the race issue was a means of deflecting voters from the class issue of the socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

The article is not well written if one has to infer what it is attempting to convey.

[newgeezer]

Here's what happens when we post an article without including the words of the original title in our own version. Someone else comes along and posts it again.

(Yes, that one has a problem, too. aShepard: If you'll click Report Abuse on your article, and ask them to put a space in SkeletonThe, they will. Otherwise, we just might see #3 before day's end. ;-)

[zoyd]

Thurmond's second bride, young enough at 22 to be the 66-year-old senator's granddaughter, was a former Miss South Carolina.

This is more interesting than a possible love child. 22.... 66.... perv. Lucky perv.

[Proud2BeFree]

Who cares? If the woman does not want to claim Strom as her father, why force the issue? It would seem to me that this woman is a private citizen and does not need the press meddling in her life. It would also seem to me that the other two people who really have any right to know in this situation are dead - her mother is presumably dead and Sen. Thurmond is dead. I'd say this lady (or possibly any children she may or may not have) are the only ones with the right to even suggest a paternity test! And it doesn't sound like she wants one.

Let's not try to revise history. The south of the first half of this century was considerably different than the south of today. We may not like the ethics and mores of the time, but the times were what they were.

However if you want to look at it from the perspective of 2003, AND if you want to accept the story as fact (and I really have no strong opinion either way, I just think it's not really my concern), then consider the following:

1. Sen. Thurmond didn't marry for the first time until the 1950's so he wasn't cheating on a spouse.

2. The story states that he visited her, provided financial support, and probably paid her way through college. (I'm sure she wasn't the only child of a family employee he helped in the same ways over the years.)

So the story says we have a political figure who may have fathered a child out of wedlock, may have supported and educated the child, did so with little or no scandal, the child in question is a retired teacher who has lead an upstanding life. All this in an era 40 years before the birth control pill.

(begin sarcasm) Geez. You're right. That sure does sound irresponsible and scandalous to me too. You'd think he was a married man, cheated with an intern, lied under oath to congress, and had a string of sexual harrassment claims following him around. (end sarcasm)

Speaking of which - despite Sen Thurmond's reputation for admiring beautiful women, does anyone have any recollection of a single sexual harrassment allegation against him? I sure don't!

[Ed_in_NJ]

"ALMOST certainly" + ladies "he's a family friend" = this article is a load of crap!

[happygrl]

Uh gee...., I don't know how my comments provoked your response, but have a nice day !

[GatekeeperBookman]

Strom would have been bored if no one attacked him-alive or dead. However, this lady ( & she sounds like she might indeed meet the definition ) is the one really harmed by this cheap & poorly concocted assault. Imagine the low sort who would attempt to contact her! What awful, ugly, mean treatment for someone who has done nothing wrong!

You have picked the important aspect of this article. The mob is an ugly beast.

[Proud2BeFree]

Sorry bout that HappyGirl. That response wasn't directed at you specifically :) I was just trying to add a comment to the thread. I'm still learning my way around here :)

[grania]

Yes why bring it up now, esp. since Thurmond is dead and his daughter from his 'wild youth' is 70? Is this not more hurtful to the daughter who now is reminded she was cast aside because someone said it was wrong for black and white people to marry or to have kids together?

I'm reading this with a little more compassion. Even with the tone of the article, it is acknowledged that he supported the girl financially and spent at least some time with her. I see this as a very complex issue when the values and the realities of the time are considered.

One of the important things is that nobody is condemning the daughter or calling her a lesser person because of her heritage. This story is nowhere near as unethical as the one that brought up that Representative who was supporting an illegitimate child who was still in high school and her parentage was private. It's the stories that affect children that cross the line.

[aShepard]

re: your correction.

Thanks newsie, but I don't see any problem in my title. Would someone have changed it without my request to do so???

[newgeezer]

Thanks newsie, but I don't see any problem in my title. Would someone have changed it without my request to do so???

Yes, it got corrected on Thursday. :-)