It seems that the late Strom Thurmond's bi-racial daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, is proud of all her ancestry: Ms. Washington-Williams "now wants to join the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization of descendants of soldiers who fought for the South in the Civil War."
"Ms. Washington-Williams is joining the Confederate organization not to honor the soldiers that fought for a Southern way of life dependent on slavery, but to explore her genealogy and heritage, her lawyer, Frank K. Wheaton, said yesterday," reports the New York Times.
Isn't it clear to Washington-Williams that these groups, though ostensibly created for the biological descendents of Southern racists, might just turn out to be ideological descendents of the Confederacy as well? Any person who chooses that particular aspect of his or her ancestry to embrace should be suspect.
Her lawyer refutes this, saying that her presence will in fact be one more step towards interracial understanding:
"Mr. Wheaton said it would be 'shortsighted' for anyone to regard Ms. Washington-Williams's application as supportive of racism or slavery. 'What her presence in these organizations does is continue to encourage the dialogue between black and white that would never otherwise take place, because they are exclusive,' he said."
What sort of dialogue would have to take place? I'm reminded of an episode of that classic sitcom, Designing Women, in which an all-white country club recruits a token black member* for the sake of appearances. Why wouldn't these Confederates want to admit the occasional black person ridiculous enough to want a part of their nonsense? It's unlikely that such an organization would ever be substantially integrated, because so few of the existing eligible (Confederacy-descended) blacks would ever want to join. These groups would continue to function as nearly-all-white social clubs, who are we kidding here?
The obvious question is, is this all basically civil rights activism through irony? Is Washington-Williams demanding admittance to an obviously racist institution with a straight face, claiming genuine interest in her heritage while actually using a loophole to point out that, haha, this absurdly racist club, despite its most racist intentions, has to admit blacks, after all, if it wishes to strictly follow its own exclusive admittance policies? Washington-Williams is making these groups look as silly as they are--or at least I sincerely hope that's what she intends to do, because that would be pretty awesome.
This story is a perfect example of why it's not such a good idea to have pride in one's ancestry, something out of one's control and thus not worth trying to take credit for. Washington-Williams is correct in acknowledging that she is descended from both black slaves and white racists, but are either of these facts really things to celebrate?
A professor interviewed for the Times piece "called Ms. Washington-Williams' quest to lay claim to her white roots 'novel.'" He added, "Most would be interested in following the roots that take them back to Africa." I can understand the interest in following one's roots, or even laying claim to them. In Washington-Williams' case in particular, laying claim to her most recent ancestry was crucial in that who her father was--a famous and powerful white racist--had been kept secret for so many years. I wish Washington-Williams the best of luck gaining admittance to the club, but hope she realizes there are better things to do with your time than hanging out with a whole bunch of people whose ancestors happened to know yours.
*("Anthony," played by the ever-wonderful Meshach Taylor--the flamboyant but oh so, err, straight assistant to the otherwise white and female Sugarbakers interior decorating firm. Yes, I've watched a bit too much "Lifetime" in my day--a better use of time than fraternizing with racists, perhaps, but not necessarily more productive).
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