Strom and his half-black daughter

[XPav]

Its sad that an "open secret" like this wasn't exposed years ago.
Its sad that Strom Thurmond saw no problems in putting his child and the mother into 2nd class citizen status.

What's really fucking lame is the way the Thurmond family is handling this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/20/national/20STRO.html

Mary T. Thompkins Freeman, a niece of the late senator, who died at 100 in June, said Ms. Washington-Williams's announcement "was like a blight on the family."

Like others, Ms. Freeman heard rumors for years that her uncle, a legendary politician in the South who rose to fame as a fiery segregationist, had fathered a child with a black maid. But she never had to confront the truth, not like this.

"I went to a church meeting the other day and all these people came up to me and you could tell they didn't know what to say," Ms. Freeman said. "For the first time in my life, I felt shame."
...
James Bishop, a nephew, said the publicity had been "embarrassing and awkward."
...
Ms. Freeman said she was not sure if she was ready to meet Ms. Washington-Williams, who has said she wants to connect with as many members of the family as possible.

"If I do, I'm not going to go with open arms," Ms. Freeman said. "It's too much to accept right now."

Yeah, its a bitch when hypocrisy hits home, aint it. Boohoo for you.

[Midnight Son]

Man, it's almost they are old-skool racist muthas or something.

[Squirrel Killer]

Ms. Freeman also said that had the secret daughter been white, "it would be a whole other situation," because public criticism would not have been as harsh.
...
"It's been really hard this week," said Ms. Bishop, who once worked as a Senate page for Mr. Thurmond. "You have to turn on the TV and there are jokes about him and you're still grieving.
...
"For something to be done so publicly and with all the media circus, well, we're just not comfortable dealing with things in that way," Dr. Bishop said. "There should have been a private conversation and a meeting."
...
"Essie Mae Washington-Williams's humble spirit and kind nature has made it easier for us to bear this news," said Ms. Senter, 58, a teacher in Columbia. "But it was hard when I first heard it because it was surprising to me that my uncle had any sort of illegitimate child, black or white."
...
On Monday, two days after the news broke about Ms. Washington-Williams, Mr. Thurmond issued a statement for the family acknowledging her "claim to her heritage" and indicating he would like to meet her. (My emp.)

Of course, some will use any event as an opportunity to take potshots:

"It's what they had to do," said Congressman James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina. "She had DNA proof. Even so, I applaud them. But mostly I applaud their attorney. The statement he put together was a work of artful vagueness." (My emp. and I'm sure if the roles were reversed, there'd be an idiot R saying the same thing about a D.)

Finding out that you've got a whole other branch of the family tree that someone's been hiding is not easy, and having it broadcast nationwide is bound to be uncomfortable. I just had Christmas with my dad, and somehow we started talking about his half-sister. They found out about her just a few years before I was born. To me she's a natural,if eccentric, part of the family, to my dad, he's still not sure how to handle her. The relationship, although cordial, is strained, and this is after some 35+ years.