Hats off to columnist Leonard Pitts for expressing the indignation that the Strom Thurmond story truly deserves (“Strom’s story of hypocrisy no big surprise,” Commentary, Dec. 23). For a 78-year-old retired teacher to claim she is now “totally free” speaks not only to Pitts’ commentary on the hypocrisy and ignorance of racism but to the inner turmoil and hidden psychosis that racism creates, long term, in its victims. The separation of families, you may remember, was one of the cruelest parts of slavery; and as slave owners did as they pleased, parental bonds were affected exponentially.
The latent syndromes of self-hatred and low self-esteem that many African-Americans feel can easily be tied to the same issues any person feels who was deserted by one or both of his or her parents. Thankfully, Essie Mae Washington-Williams found out the truth. There are millions, however, who may never find out the truth.
