South Carolinian Christopher George writes.

“Well it finally happened. My home state of South Carolina’s most famous (or is that infamous) political figure died at the age of 100.

(…)

As might be imagined, he is being remembered as a hero in his home state. The local media would have you believe that the earth itself spun only because he willed it to. We have a tendency, as a people, to not speak badly of those who have passed away, but it’s important to remember people for who they actually were, not some rose-colored vision of who they were, or pretended to be.

It’s with that in mind that I want to paint a picture of what Strom Thurmond really stood for. He was a racist. No amount of sugarcoating or excuse-making can change that. In fact, he was one of the most important figures in the history of the Segregated South.

I’ve had my fill of people telling me that he was a product of his times and the views he held were almost universally held in the South back then.” AlterNet