Sharpton to get DNA testing

NEW YORK, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Two Florida men from the family that owned Al Sharpton's great-grandfather have agreed to DNA testing to determine if they share more than a last name with him.

Cousins Bunyan Randall Sharpton, known as Randy, and Durwood Sharpton are both descended from Julia Ann Thurmond Sharpton and Jefferson Sharpton. Genealogists recently announced that they had found documents showing that Julia Sharpton owned Coleman Sharpton Sr. in 1861.

"If he has a strong desire to learn about his lineage and his ancestors, I support him and his right to be able to do so," Randy Sharpton told the New York Daily News.

Julia Sharpton was also related to the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, and members of the Thurmond family may also have owned some of Sharpton's ancestors.

Sharpton could be related to the white Thurmonds or Sharptons because slave owning men often used their female slaves for sex.