Remembering Strom
The grim legacy of Strom Thurmond seems to grow darker every day. A recently released 1965 FBI memo shows that segregationist Thurmond pressed the agency to go after civil rights leader Martin Luther King, who he deemed "controlled by communists."
The FBI released the memo and 600 pages of other materials in its Thurmond file this week in response to requests from The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina. The September 1965 memo written by J. Edgar Hoover deputy Cartha Deloache details a meeting with Thurmond staffers, one of who "stated that it was widely understood that King was controlled by communists in this country."
Most Americans will rightly remember Thurmond as a virulent racist, ardent segregationist, and public foe but secret proponent of miscegenation.
President Bush, on the other hand, recalls Thurmond this way:
"Senator Strom Thurmond led an extraordinary life...He served his country as Senator, Governor, and state legislator and was a beloved teacher, coach, husband, father, and grandfather...I saw first hand the tremendous love he had for his constituents, and the admiration the people of South Carolina had for him."
And Mississippi Senator Trent Lott spoke of him wistfully:
"I want to say this about my state: when Strom Thurmond ran for President, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."
Thurmond's legacy may be clouded for some by his politically expedient, born-again rejection of racial hatred late in his life. To help truly honor the man, Perrspectives recommends appropriate legislation, perhaps co-sponsored by fellow Southern Men Bill Frist and Trent Lott:
The Strom Thurmond American Legacy Commemoration Act
The Strom Thurmond American Legacy Commemoration Act (STALCA) would bar Federal funds to any state not displaying both the Confederate flag and the Ten Commandments at all public buildings, facilities and property. STALCA also includes the "Big House" credit, which makes tax deductible all child care payments made to the illegitimate offspring of a taxpayer's domestic servants.
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