American Tapestry: The Story of the Black,White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama (2012)By Rachel Swarns
This story traces Michelle Obama's line back five generations her mother's side, and four generations along 3 other great grandparents' lines. Journalist Swarns has deeply researched the former first lady's roots back to a slave named Melvinia Shields who gave birth to biracial children. Family members eventually experience emancipation, then Jim Crow laws. Michelle Obama's parents, Fraser and Marian Robinson, did not attend college but were very supportive of their children's education.
While this story is familiar in that (1) a slave had relations with her white owner's family, and 2) that all her grandparents were part of the great northern migration, what makes it so fascinating is the trail from slavery to the White House.
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