Written in stone

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums About Top Jobs

On Thursday, Essie Mae Washington-Williams took her rightful place beside the other children of the late Strom Thurmond. Washington-Williams' name was etched into Thurmond's monument at the Statehouse under the names of his four younger children.

Thurmond's family quickly and graciously accepted Washington-Williams, 78, into the family soon after she went public last fall, telling the world that she is the biracial daughter of the one-time segregationist. Her mother was a black maid in the Thurmond family's Edgefield home.

The Legislature was equally gracious in approving a bill this year that would add Washington-Williams' name to the monument. Thurmond's children are no longer listed in order of age. "Essie Mae" now is etched below Nancy Moore, Strom Jr., Julie and Paul. The margins on the monument are no longer symmetrical.

Another change will soon be made to the monument. A line saying that South Carolina's former senator and governor was the "father of four children" will be changed to "five."

Washington-Williams, a retired schoolteacher, harbored her secret for more than 70 years out of respect for Thurmond. She came forward after Thurmond's death last June to set the historical record straight. Adding her name to the monument helps to ensure that the truth literally is now written in stone. And it offers closure for a woman of uncommon grace and generosity.