This is a follow-up to the Slavery Links Sharpton and Thurmond Families article that I published on February 25. See http://tinyurl.com/2uameq for the original story. Now Reverend Sharpton says he wants a DNA test to determine whether he is related to former segregationist Senator 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.
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.
You can read more in the Washington Post at http://tinyurl.com/22nyzq.
