STROM THURMOND : A Life in Full (Special Series , Part 1)

Strom Thurmond, A LIFE in Full, is our special three part look at the life of Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.  Senator Thurmond is actually the person we focused our very first episode on when we started this podcast. It was the first in our 11 part series that put a spotlight on the leadership lessons we could learn from the World War 2 Generation and how we could apply those lessons to today's issues.  The lessons I chose to focus on in that episode was his conscious decision to change and his decision not to fight the same old battles over and over again after it was clear that he had lost.  Don't you wish today's leaders would pay attention to those two lessons? 

Strom Thurmond bares the distinction of being the one historical figure out of all that our show has covered that I actually knew. While we were not friends he was someone I dealt with fairly often between 1991 and 1997 and met with again in 2000 and as a freshman city council member in my first three months in office while he was serving his final year in March of 2002, when the Senator was 99 years old. 

I was , however, able to get to know his sister Mrs. Martha Bishop of Greenwood S.C. fairly well and years later I helped Senator Thurmond's son, Paul Thurmond,  in his bid to run for the United States Congress from a District that ran between Myrtle Beach and Charleston , South Carolina. I came away from these encounters with an extraordinarily high regard for the entire Thurmond Family. It is from that viewpoint that I have put together all of the shows that have focused either entirely or partially on Senator Strom Thurmond. I honestly feel that those listeners who did not know or remember Senator Thurmond could benefit from hearing more about the man who served our state for a remarkable 74 years.  

Due to the Senator's more ancient past, when he was involved in leading the fight against the civil rights movement, much of what most people know or remember, is that era, and only that era, of his career. They ignore his early career when he was actually viewed as progressive for a Southern political figure, and his later career when he shifted on the issue of civil rights and helped lead not just South Carolina but the entire South away from its past on the subject of race. 

This episode starts a three part look at his life and it covers his overall entire biography, and a focused look at this personal relationship with his daughter Essie Mae Washington Williams, and his change on civil rights, a change that was widely noted at the time of his death in June of 2003., but largely ignored today.

Then we will move on in our second and third episodes to looking at his life as a Senator and his impact both big and small on his constituents, and finally a look back at his final campaign for re-election to the United States Senate against Democratic businessman Elliot Close. A campaign in which I volunteered and had the extraordinary experience  to get to be up-close on a few occasions to the largest political figure South Carolina produced in the 20th century.  For me, it was one of the most important experiences of my lifetime. 

** I wish to acknowledge the fine work of WIS TV 10,  SC ETV, and CNN for their news broadcasts that we used in putting these three podcasts together, much of which was aired over a three day period when the senator passed away. 

Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Chapters

• 0:00 Segment of The Capital Gang with Mark Shields and Al Hunt on Strom Thurmond offering advice on how to have children in the order you want them
• 1:07 intro music
• 1:30 Host Randal Wallace welcomes you to our special 3 episode series on Strom Thurmond
• 2:37 WIS tv 10 video obituary on Senator Strom Thurmond
• 28:45 WIS Anchorman David Stanton with Dr. Blease Graham June 26. 2003
• 29:43 Conversation joined by Senator Lyndsey Graham by phone on June 26, 2003
• 33:39 interviews of average South Carolinians at the Forrest Acres S.C. Wal-Mart on June 26, 2003
• 35:51 Host Randal Wallace introduces the story of Senator Thurmond's oldest child Essie Mae Washington Williams
• 36:41 60 Minutes story "Essie Mae" with Dan Rather after Mrs. Williams came forward in 2003
• 52:45 CNN interview with Essie Mae Washington Williams by Paula Zhan
• 55:58 Host Randal Wallace addresses Dan Rather's remark about the Thurmond family "Finally recognizing" Mrs. Williams claim. He also addresses mythology that has been repeated on the internet
• 1:00:16 WIS interview with former State Representative I.S. Leavy Johnson, one of the first African American State Representatives.
• 1:04:53 WIS anchor David Stanton and Dr. Blease Graham discuss the partnership in the Senate of Thurmond and Senator Ernest Hollings
• 1:07:28 WIS montage of remembrances of Strom Thurmond from South Carolinians, Representative Joe Wilson and Senator Ernest Hollings on the Senate floor.
• 1:08:53 Closing theme