Thurmond's Daughter: Sharpton 'Overreacted'

Feb 27, 06:06 PM

Current Headlines: By Aaron Gould Sheinin, The State, Columbia, S.C.

Feb. 27--The biracial daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond says the Rev. Al Sharpton "overreacted" to news reports that he is a descendant of a Thurmond family slave.

"He's been on TV constantly" and has put too much emphasis on the matter, Essie Mae Washington Williams said of the New York City civil rights activist during a meeting with reporters in Columbia today.

Williams, who lives in Los Angeles but was in South Carolina for a book signing, said if it had been anyone else's family, it wouldn't have been as big a deal.

Williams, 81, said she hasn't spoken with Sharpton nor other members of the Thurmond family. Williams is the daughter of Thurmond, a white politician and one-time segregationist, and a black woman who worked for his family.

Williams also says she doesn't know what to make of Sharpton's request for a DNA test to determine whether he is related to the Thurmonds.

-----

Copyright (c) 2007, The State, Columbia, S.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.