Is it just coincidence that a story has appeared touting the fact that Al Sharpton is the descendant of slaves, ones owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond to boot? Or could this be the unofficial kick-off of the Sharpton presidential campaign, with a major boost from the reverend's hometown newspaper?Let's put these three stories together:
On January 17, a story appears reporting: "civil rights activist Al Sharpton said Monday he is seriously considering a run for president. " And why is Sharpton running? "If we're talking about the urban agenda, can you tell me anybody else in the field who's representing that right now?" Translation: Obama might be preparing to announce, but he's not addressing African-American issues.
Three weeks later, on the day Barack Obama announces his candidacy, a story appears in which Al Sharpton declares “just because you’re our color doesn’t make you our kind.” Translation: Barack Obama is not an authentic African-American.
And now, just two weeks after Obama's announcement, a story bursts out of the Daily News declaring that Sharpton's ancestors were slaves owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond.
Now, what better way to focus on the distinction between you and Barack Obama than a national story underlining the fact that you are a descendant of slaves, which Obama, as the son of a Kenyan, is pointedly not?
Note that the Daily News story mentions that "for the better part of two weeks, a team of genealogists - led by Megan Smolenyak, an ancestry scholar who has written four books and was the lead researcher for the PBS "Ancestors" series - unpeeled the layers of Sharpton's family tree. The Daily News gave him [Sharpton] the opportunity to explore his family's history with the help of a team of experts from Ancestry.com - a company that has archived more than 5 billion documents around the world and has 55 million additional pieces of data dedicated to African-American ancestry. and that "a team of some of the country's most trusted genealogists spent two weeks examining Sharpton's family background."
Reading between the lines, it seems likely that there was an intersection of interests here. Ancestry.com wanted some publicity, the Daily News wanted a big story, and for purposes of launching his presidential campaign, Al Sharpton wanted something that not only put him in the limelight, but focused attention on his roots of slavery, making him, in his own words, one of "our kind," akin to millions of other African-Americans and distinct from Barack Obama.
And so the Daily News commissioned Ancestry.com to undertake the research. Did the News pay Ancestry.com, or did the company offer its services free of charge as part of its self-promotional campaign? And what better subject for its research than Sharpton? Was the story really the shock that Sharpton has made it out to be, or did he cooperate with the research? And what reason was there to undertake this now? After all, nothing could be less surprising than the fact that Sharpton, like virtually all African-Americans, is the descendant of slaves? Of course the fact that Sharpton's ancestors might have been owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond is icing on the publicity cake.
It all came together in this Daily News story. I'd say that's what's really going on here. Look for the Reverend Al to announce his candidacy before long.
Aside: Have a look at the image of the front-page of this morning's Daily News. You'll see Sharpton holding up yesterday's paper. Two front-page stories in a row, in what is sure to be a continuing series as Al explores his roots, the Thurmond family's reaction is obtained, etc. Does it get any better than this for Al?
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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I'd look for fawning, const
February 26, 2007 - 07:14 ET by sarcasmoI'd look for fawning, constant media coverage in spite of his chances if he does...But I'm still giddy about CNN's Lou Dobbs supposedly-lifting the Ron Paul blackout tonight.
JMR
REPERATIONS!!!!
February 26, 2007 - 08:10 ET by nicksmith112Countdown until Ambulance Chaser Al announces a class action suit against the Strom bloodline!
countdown
February 26, 2007 - 08:19 ET by Carpareus...4,3,2,1, blastoff? I'd wager (if I was a wagering man) that the initial memo has been responded to by now.
Sharpton has made running for
February 26, 2007 - 08:22 ET by rimskySharpton has made running for President a full time job, and a lucrative one at that. This is deceptive marketing. There's no telling what deals were made surrounding this... this... LOAD!
Thanks, Mark. I'd like to see plenty of follow up on this. Sharpton needs to be exposed, once and for all. We can't let this guy go on being so untouchable.
Thanks, rimsky. It seems so
February 26, 2007 - 08:28 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks, rimsky. It seems so obvious that this son-of-slaves story is really all about Al running for prez. Yet I haven't seen it reported elsewhere, so thought it was worthwhile putting forward here.
Al Sharpton is a slave to the
February 26, 2007 - 08:22 ET by AntiMediaAl Sharpton is a slave to the white liberal establishment.
Al Sharpton Running Again?
February 26, 2007 - 09:53 ET by emjem24I just love how this rag gives this race baiter free press. Is there an authentic paper in New York anymore? Isn't it the ultimate irony that one of the biggest race baiters of our time is a descendant of slaves who worked for relatives of the late Strom Thurmond? This is a deliberate ploy to get this guy back in the limelight.
Al Sharpton cannot help himself but belittle whites for what they have and should give to blacks. The inner city is falling apart but he has never addressed this problem. He has never addressed how it takes a black community to fix the issues of out of wedlock babies, drugs, black on black crime, broken families, welfare, and blacks blaming their problems on American society at large.
This man will never change. I cringe every time he appears on Hannity and Colmes or on Sean Hannity's radio show. I wish the media would just ignore this small little man for good but of course Sharpton would sue them and claim racism and how ignoring him is violating his free speech rights.
The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer. Air Force Motto
emjem says: When your brain's stuck on liberalism it self-destructs.
Of course he's running! If t
February 26, 2007 - 10:21 ET by i was just thinkingOf course he's running! If there's a camera or a dollar to be chased, you'll find him running.
I wish he'd decide... are we supposed to be a color-blind society, or not? We're not supposed to look at color, only qualifications, yet apparently we have white, true black, and not-so-black. I'm so confused. MSM, please tell me what to think!
I am surprised the birdcage l
February 26, 2007 - 11:08 ET by MikeBI am surprised the birdcage liner didn't say that Sharpton is descended from slaves owned by Strom Thurmond's ancestors, and that those slaves had been sold to slave traders by Barak Obama's ancestors.
The fact is that Sharpton has never been a slave, nor have any in his family for at least 140 years. Strom Thurmond never owned a slave, nor has anyone in his family owned slaves for at least 140 years. So, Al, get over it. Slavery was outlawed in this nation by white people. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by a white, Republican president. The 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed because white Republican representatives and senators voted overwhelmingly for it. Your race-baiting, oh-poor-me-I'm-a-victim schtick wore thin a long time ago.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
Right on
February 26, 2007 - 12:45 ET by iveseenitallRight on, Mike. This con artist, Sharpton. He should have served time in jail.The phony, semi-literate jackass has fooled so many people, starting with Bill O'Reilly. When he has "our pal Al" on, I switch stations.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Sharpton
February 26, 2007 - 15:02 ET by pocomocoAl Sharpton claims that he is the descendant of slaves once owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond .
Now that's what I call a "convenient truth".
So Al "the extortionist" Shar
February 26, 2007 - 15:12 ET by gfrrmanSo Al "the extortionist" Sharpton decides to run for president. He takes loads of taxpayer $$$ to run a half-assed campaign and then is run out of the race. He then takes the remaining $$$ from the taxpayers and pockets it for a nice little piece of change, Nice racket if you can get it. Wouldn't expect anything less from this POS.
As an amateur genealogist mys
February 26, 2007 - 16:49 ET by Tom PaineAs an amateur genealogist myself I can state that is has taken me years to research my relatives back to Ireland in the early 1800's. This is tracing people who left a trail of birth, death, marriage and property records. I can't imagine trying to do it for slaves who were considered to be property, and therefore not subject to standard record keeping procedures. Even the greatest repository of genealogical information in the country, the National Archives says that tracing slave records is very difficult. You can follow this link for more information.
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/heritage/african-american/
So it is very difficult for me to believe that even an army of professional genealogists would be able to uncover so much information about Al Sharpton's ancestors in only 2 weeks. This has either been in the works for a while in anticipation of Al being able to make his run for president and take a swipe at Obama for not being "authentically black" at the same time, or the research is bogus. At the very least, I'd like to see a discussion of the research methodology and the sources of information.
Al Skarkton
February 26, 2007 - 17:26 ET by Dave RThis story would be a lot more believable if it had turned out the "owners" had been ancestors of anybody other that Strom Thurmund. That, to me, makes it all sound a little too, ah, convenient.
I hate newspapermen.....I regard them as spies.....If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast. -Gen. William T. Sherman
Whoa! A black man in America
February 27, 2007 - 08:54 ET by americaneagleWhoa! A black man in America that is descended from slaves. Who would have ever thought that?
NEWSFLASH: AE is the descendants of slaves imported through South Carolina in the antebellum South. Do I get to run for Prez now?
Who woulda thunk, americaneagle - and yes you can run.
February 27, 2007 - 09:03 ET by acaiguanaWho woulda thunk, americaneagle - and yes you can run.
I'm not sure why you would want to run. Being a politician is sort of like being the 'smelly kid' in class.
ACA
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Quoted from: 'Acaiguana Notes from the Bomb Shelter' (soon to be a movie at theaters near you)
Mark, Sharpton is sharp isn't he. This is as bloody as it gets.
February 27, 2007 - 09:09 ET by acaiguanaMark, Sharpton is sharp isn't he. This is as bloody as it gets.
I see this as Sharpton et. al., taking back the Black leadership from the establishment White Liberal East Coast Seaboard.
I've been waiting for this. Wait until Hillary really gets out there in Public. Her hiding isn't working out too well.
Obama might as well pack it in.
ACA
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Quoted from: 'Acaiguana Notes from the Bomb Shelter' (soon to be a movie at theaters near you)