As you probably know, Essie Mae Washington Williams — who in 2003 confirmed that she was Strom Thurmond's daughter — died a few days ago. The conservative Republican commentator — who once worked for the infamous late U.S. Senator — writes: "Williams, whose mother worked as a maid in the Thurmond family home,
was long rumored to be Thurmond's daughter. In 1968, Robert Sherrill
alleged that Thurmond had fathered a mixed race child, and in 1972, the
front page of a local South Carolina newspaper announced that Thurmond
had fathered a 'colored offspring.' By 1992, The Washington Post was referring to Williams as Thurmond's 'supposed daughter.'
During the Senator’s lifetime, Thurmond's family and staffers
repeatedly denied the claim, describing Williams as merely a friend of
the family. Through my long working relationship with the Senator, I
knew otherwise."
More: "I began working for Senator Thurmond in 1978; our relationship went
far back. Nearly 20 years later, at a 1996 Washington Urban League
ceremony, the Senator and I were honored for our work in promoting peace
and good will between black and white Americans. Backstage, he leaned
over to me and said, 'You know, I have deep roots in the black
community....deep roots.' His voice softened into a raspy whisper, 'You've
heard the rumors.' 'Are they just rumors, Senator?' I asked. 'I've had a fulfilling life,' cackled Thurmond, winking salaciously. The subject came up again while the Senator and I were attending a
South Carolina State football game in Orangeburg. He mentioned how he
had arranged for Williams to attend the college while he was governor.
(Thurmond caused quite a stir when his official car rolled onto the
campus for a visit.) 'When a man brings a child in the world, he should take care of that
child,' he told me, and added, 'she'll never say anything and neither
will you. Not while I'm alive.' He showed me where she lived while
attending S.C. State and admitted to supporting her financially. Though
he didn't say outright that she was his daughter, the Senator's remarks
left little to interpret."
Booker Rising response: I'm side-eyeing Armstrong. You knew for decades that the infamous Sen. Strom Thurmond had fathered a daughter — contrary to his public claims, his oldest child — with his family's black teenage maid while hypocritically opposing civil rights for black folks (plus fathering a child out of wedlock while claiming to be a staunch family-values advocate), and you sat on that info?!?! Even while Strom is cracking jokes about his de facto statutory-rape?! Don't get me started on Strom's distancing language about his daughter, in Armstrong's op-ed. I don't care if I was working for the man (which a black person with sense wouldn't have done in the first place), that info would've "leaked" somewhere.
Armstrong Williams Op-Ed: Strom Thurmond & Essie Mae
