Contemporary Politics and the Legacy of Slavery

In 2004, Rev. Al Sharpton ran for President on a civil rights platform. In 1948, South Carolina's late Senator Strom Thurmond ran as a segregationist. Now it turns out that Sharpton is descended from slaves owned by Thurmond's ancestors. After asking Sharpton's permission to research his ancestry the New York Daily News hired a group called Ancestry.com, which made the connection, one Sharpton calls "part of the shame and glory of America." Ron Walters is Professor of Political Science at the University of Maryland.