Strom Thurmond and Al Sharpton

A genealogist has discovered that Al Sharpton's great grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather. Sharpton, as you might imagine, was a bit plussed by this revelation. Speaking on behalf of the Thurmond clan, Strom Thurmond's niece Ellen Senter said:

"I doubt you can find many native South Carolinians today whose family, if you traced them back far enough, didn't own slaves. And it is wonderful that (Sharpton) was able to become what he is in spite of what his forefather was."

The first part of the quote is probably wrong but understandable. Most people when confronted with the probability that their ancestors owed slaves would seek solace in the "everyone was doing it" dodge.
I find the second part of the quote curious. Either Senter is 100% unaware of who and what Sharpton is, or she's very adept at the art of genteel harpoonery.