Michelle Obama's Slave Ancestors Discovered

Seattle Times:

Tiny wooden cabins line the dirt road once known as Slave Street as it winds through Friendfield Plantation.

More than 200 slaves lived in the whitewashed shacks in the early 1800s, and some of their descendants remained for more than 100 years after the Civil War. The last tenants abandoned the hovels about 30 years ago, and even they would have struggled to imagine a distant daughter of the plantation one day calling the White House home.

But a historical line can be drawn from these Low Country cabins to Michelle Obama, charting an American family's improbable journey through slavery, segregation, the civil-rights movement and a historic presidential election.

Read the whole story: Seattle Times

Comments

[1will]

What a shocker. A black woman in America is descended from slaves. Who would have thought it possible?
In other news, the sun rose in the East this morning.

[KarateKid]

LMAO!!

[robXdion]

So why bother to comment? Is that how you defend yourself against moral discomfort? Lame comedic dismissal that helps you cope with the truth?

[1will]

As I've never owned slaves so I have no moral discomfort. I accept responsibility for my own actions and have nothing to do with anything that happened before my Great Grandmother was born.

[Freesia2]

A black American woman was able to find out exactly where her ancestors (at least back that far) lived and how they lived. Many aren't that lucky. They never know. Their history was deleted for them. So the sun rose a little higher in the East for Michelle one morning.

Walk toward the sunlight 1will. It's warmer there.

[Yovovi]

Elephant in the room: Why did campaign funds (and my donations) pay for this geneological research having nothing to do with the campaign? Reports like this (if true) make me reconsider future donations. I think millionnaires should fund their own family tree research. At least Sarah Palin's luxury suits had a nexus to the work she was doing on their campaign.

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

Quit hating. Are you happier with your taxes supporting the bombing of kids and old folks in Iraq? And your future donations are yours to decide. Keep it to yourself and donate to causes that YOU consider worthy.

[Yovovi]

You both miss the point.

[the-lexicon]

Well, the obvious answer is that it DOES have something to do with the campaign. When the opponent will go to fantastic lengths to find something.­..anything about you that may be used against you, the only defense is to get there first.

Can you recall, only about 45 days ago, when some offshoots of the Obama family tree were trotted out by the right wing echo chamber to somehow PROVE that Obama was a no-good dirty (insert smear topic here)?

these folks are under the microscope, and it behooves them to get to the info first, and work up their defense.

Also...what a GREAT photo of Michelle. She's a strikingly good-looking woman, among her other charms and abilities!

lexicon

[loki]

big whoop. I mean, I have a Chinese American grandmother whose from a family that came together during the great Chinese slavery period in America. Does that make me special? Im American, and more and more these days, less proud to admit it, but that is what I am. You never see Chinese Americans going on about being slaves and mistreated and so on.

[southernsepia]

That's because you are too busy enjoying the civil rights Black Americans have fought for already.

We acknowledge our history and fight to make things better.

[FaceYourFears]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!

[SPQR1052]

RIght on! "Nuff said. Now let's all work together and support The Obama family and administration.

[robXdion]

Actually they complain about their slave labor building the railroads a lot. Your peevish comment is just one in a litany of efforts to dismiss AA history or any acknowledgment because you feel overshadowed. Because unless you're commenting on a specific person, this article isn't complaining about anything.

[nycity]

so move

and if black ppl want to recall their history in this country

who are YOU to b i t c h and moan about it?

let them talk about their history, do they not have that right?

your post is incredibly ridiculous

[Eyewideopen]

No, they whine about Japanese atrocities toward them in WWII and so on.

[robXdion]

True. I missed that one.

[1will]

You're correct. I've never seen a Chinese (or other Asian) whine about anything. All I've ever seen any of them do is work hard and send their kids to college. I wish everyone would do the same.

[robXdion]

And you've seen it ALL right? You have no idea what you're talking about. Asians are honorary whites. "Buffers" to Blacks who catch the greatest heat because they are the farthest from whiteness. And this article isn't complaining about slavery, you never owned slaves, so why are you so defensive? You have a serious guilt-complex that no one is putting on you but yourself.

[gintheb]

Can't we all just get along?

[Suzique]

My ancestors came from Europe in the early 1900's. Why is this my guilt? Anybody remember the no Irish pogroms?

[IslandGyal]

Suzique,
Yup, yup, your ancestors worked for nothing and often had their family members sold away from them, and they were VERY happy folks, who did not then nor do now complain. I am sooooooooooo glad for them.

[robXdion]

Who said it was your guilt? Your ancestors eventually excelled because blacks were more despised in the social hierarchy. And they subsequently benefited from their skin color in ways blacks never could and weren't afraid to let blacks know about it either. Still aren't. There was an Irish migration to the US because of the Potato Famine in the 1840's but JFK was President by 1960. Blacks have been here since around 1609 and. . . well you get the point.

[SPQR1052]

Very good but not accurate - The First Africans arrived in 1619 (Jamestown, Virginia.) I believe they totaled 44 - Hmmmm, nice number. BUT those blacks were not slaves they were indentured servants, like some whites who could not pay t he passage. SLAVERY as we know it started later. It is estimated that 8 Million slaves lost their lives in tran

I am of the profound belief that character of individuals is shaped by positive reinforcement and/or knowledge of ones history - Something denied, unforgivably so, to African Americans. Not all American blacks are of slave ancestry and as we know President-elect although he has no known lineage to this nations horrible slave history HE is a positive example and role model for African-Americans and others.

When I look at the pride he has in himself it inspires me and when I see blacks looking at him in awe and amazement this inspires me even more and gives me the feeling that our great nation will persevere. sport via the Atlantic slave route.

We are who we were... WE must never forget the past.

[StacyGA]

Why such a knee-jerk reaction whenever any historical FACTS about slavery in this country is referenced? Do you have such a reaction when any other historiical references are made?

It is an uplifting historical reference that is quite inspiring considering that despite prior persecution an American women has come a long way since her ancestors were kidnapped and brought to this country. that is all. If you feel any guilt you may need to do some soul searching because that isn't the intent of the article.

[BlackWidowPilot]

OK, I'll bite; I'm of full European descent, including a quarter Irish blood from mom's side of the family (Burkes and Rosses of County Cork). I am also a Military Historian, so I know full well what my distant cousins mean with "Cromwell's curse be upon you!"

I am aware that the life of an Irish immigrant in the mid-1800s in America around the port of New Orleans was worth far less than a slave's, so they were hired to drain the malarial swamps to expand that city, and died in droves doing so from mosquito-borne diseases.

This is simply apples and oranges, citizen. Whatever happened to our shared ancestors frankly pales in comparison to what was done to the ancestors of Black Americans, and that is an empirical, documented fact.

It is not our guilt, but it damn well is our responsibility as Americans to be informed about our collective history as a nation, warts and all, and own it, warts and all. It is also our responsibility as *human beings* to appreciate the grief and anger of those on the receiving end of racism, and do everything in our power to put the monster Xenophobia to bed once and for all.

Open your eyes, citizen; all blood runs red.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[Freesia2]

Preach it. :-)

Seriously - that was a very good post.

[SPQR1052]

You should seriously blog for Huff Post! Bravo.

[KarateKid]

Irish need not apply. I read my history books.

[bbridges1962]

Then there was oppression...some either didn't want to be free, or didn't know how to be.

[BlackWidowPilot]

Excuse me? There was Jim Crow and Segregation and the Klu Klux Klan for over a hundred years to suppress and terrorize an entire segment of our fellow Americans, for no other excuse than the colour of their skin, for no other pretext than the preservation of the status quo of a self-appointed Southern aristocracy violently clinging to their old order of privilege and economic predation at the expense of a designated group of second-class citizens.

Your statement begs the question, citizen, did you SLEEP through your high school American History class?

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[KarateKid]

I don't think bbridges was inaccurate; there WERE some slaves who did not want to be free, or were afraid to be free. That is the crime of slavery.

[Flagrantlover]

No matter how flawed America may be, the fact that Michelle can now be First Lady (elect) is inpiring me to no end. We'll all get our equality eventually!

Love you Michelle!!!

[SeanGardner]

This is a very touching story. The most interesting part is the HARVARD connection Michelle Obama has with Francis Withers, her ancestors plantation owner. That was dramatic to learn that they both graduated from Harvard.

This story is not unlike my own. On my mother's side, I can trace our family back to a plantation on the outskirts of Raleigh, N.C. in 1759, and on my father's side of the family, I know that my paternal grandmother told me (before her death in 1999) that she worked in the house of the family of the late SC Sen. Strom Thurmond from 1918 to the early 1920s. Back then, Thurmond was only a city politician - not yet the frothing at the mouth Dixiecrat who ran on a segregationist presidential ticket.

Michelle Obama's story is not unusual. He story is my story, and mine hers: triumph and victory of Southern Reconstruction, and sadness and heartbreak of poll taxes, literacy tests, and the grandfather cluase. Like some of her relatives, mine taught themselves to read and other slaves to read too when it was against the law to do so. And its amazing that the Obama Family is about to reside in The White House, the most famous and prestigious address in all the world - and one built by slaves.

So much to mourn, yet so much to be extraordinarily and fiercely proud of.

[roshni]

I am proud to have Michelle Obama as my first lady. She has overcome the odds of her humble beginnings, as did her parents before her, to rise to the top.
Michelle, you are an inspiration to people of all races and you are a survivor.

[EvangelicalEmpathy]

It puzzles me that African-Americans feel ashamed about slavery and White-Americans run from the subject because they don't want to feel guilty. White-Americans are the ones who should feel ashamed about slavery and Jim Crow laws, not Blacks. African-Americans should feel proud to have overcome it all.

[robXdion]

White Americans do feel ashamed, that's why they try to shut down any conversation about rac.ism or it's historical progression. And to avoid this guilt they've learned to make African Americans more embarrassed to even bring it up. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton styled speakers overplaying righteous indignation for their own personal aggrandizement have helped whites portray themselves as victims and render history or their own benefits from rac.ism a moot point. An Obama seems to want to further the tradition of avoidance because it's too much for people to swallow. Oh, and btw, Blacks still deal with much of the same attitudes that began with slavery and Jim Crow. It's unconscious and it's systemic among doctors, banks, housing, and job hiring.

[FaceYourFears]

Excellent point....I also picked that up about Barack. He addressed the Jewish community and their concerns, Hispanics, unions, etc., his words to the AA community....pull your pants up! I totally agree with him but white folks do it too.

[Freesia2]

Hello rob. (No I'm not following you all over the thread. I just saw what you wrote here. Need to say something.)

You say white Americans feel ashamed - okay.

Then you say white Americans "shut down any conversation about racism or its historical progression". Really? Do we? All of us?

What are "white Americans" to you? Do you mean all people with white skin no matter who they are individually? Because you see I've bumped into you on Huffpo several times. i always stop to read what you write because you're very articulate and I like to read your posts. I always respond if I have something to say and check back to read your response. I've never tried to "avoid the guilt" and I've never tried to make you "embarassed to even bring it up". And I'm not the only white person on Huffpo who I've seen engaging you, and not shutting you down. What about us?

So unless we all joined some "White Americans Club" without anybody telling us.....well. ?

And I'm not "portraying myself as a victim". I'm making a point.

[stell]

You're right. And see that's the thing with so-called "White guilt"; it should exist. Anyone who considers himself or herself humane would feel it. The question then is, what are you going to do about it? Tokenism isn't the answer. "Diversity" isn't the answer. Twins are different/diverse. Neither is so-called "multi-cul­turalism". America is a concept, so if we are all part of the American culture, why do we need multiple American cultures? What do those terms mean? Sounds like purposeful confusion.

Racism is in the language. Justice is better than racism, and it's as simple as gauranteeing that no one is mistreated and that those that need help the most get it, period.

[StillIRise]

Blacks in America HAD to learn European history and culture to survive, not only in the classroom, but in life in general, in our daily interactions and in our understanding of the powers or the white establishment that virtually controlled our lives. But white Americans never HAD to learn the history of our people or to understand our culture, which is why even the black church was attacked during the election. It was an anomaly to most white Americans, and because it did not subscribe to their standards of worship or their worship experience, it was subjected to derision.

I remember several years ago watching "Jeopardy." The contestants were three white men, and they were brilliant, effortlessly answering questions on every topic imaginable. It was an exciting competition, and I was captivated by their incredible scope of knowledge ... until the final jeopardy question! The question was in reference to a black author, and I knew the answer immediately, but I could tell that they were struggling. Amazingly, each of them gave the same answer: James Baldwin ... which was the wrong answer! But obviously, James Baldwin was one of the few black authors they were familiar with, or at least familiar with his name! This made me realize once again how insignificant our history and our culture is to white America, but also how essential it is to our relationship with one another and with ourselves. Education is key to closing the divide that separates us.

[robXdion]

But they resent the implication or even the suggestion they should have to learn about black culture beyond "MLK had a dream". They don't know that many of the innovations they enjoy now came from black inventors (traffic lights, automatic transmission, etc). Even the very distinctiveness of American music, art, and dance is the product of blacks. And they only know about James Baldwin because he packaged his message in such tortured poetry that spoke of broad humanity being black and gay rather than accusations. Always careful not to offend the white majority despite his era.

[Nommo]

Honestly, you ought to read Baldwin again.

[StillIRise]

"But they resent the implication or even the suggestion that they should have to learn about black culture ..."

I realize this rob, and though I know this isn't true of ALL white people, it does seem to be true of many. But why do they resent it? What is it that's so offensive about learning or even talking about the history and experience of blacks in America?

I always have a story :) ... but I remember when "Beloved" came out in the movie theaters, and I was listening to a white radio host talk about it. He said that he didn't want to see "Beloved" and that he didn't watch any "black" movies because they were only made to make white people feel guilty! I couldn't believe that someone could be, first of all that ignorant, but that insensitive or shut down to the lives and experiences of others, that in essence shapes their own lives and experiences! Is it the guilt that some white Americans feel and the shame that some black Americans feel that keep us from openly and honestly talking about a painful past or a present that is still overshadowed by that past? Is it guilt and shame that keep us from wanting to know more about each other and from embracing each other's humanity, even though it helps us to embrace our own? Is this the answer I'm looking for?

[StellaRay]

StillIrise and robxdion,

You have a right to your resentments. But I would say this. Watch that word "they." It seems to lump all white people into one clump, as once white people lumped all black people into one clump. Again, you can do this with just cause in the language of revenge, but if you're interested in hope, it does not work.

I am a white person who taught African History and celebrates the culture. Often I am envious of the richness and bravery I discovered in a race that is not my own.

My studies have broken my heart, broadened my soul, humbled me beyond belief, and assured me that knowledge is the key to moving forward. Some of us that you consider
them, are more a part of you than you know.

[kellygrrrl]

btw, that's a great photo of MO

[roshni]

She is a strong and beautiful woman.

[YR]

The article below demonstrates the utter failure of this country's educational system to deal systematically with US history in a meaningful way. I recommend reading narratives of the enslaved, like Mattie Jackson and Lucy Delaney.

Teacher sorry for binding girls in slavery lesson

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_us/slave_lesson;_ylt=AotWy4g5PnieW7X5jBD__P6s0NUE

[robXdion]

It's also about the ignorance and insensitivity of many whites when considering a subject that doesn't effect their immediate lives.

[jdmba]

Willful ignorance. Privilege is the ability to pretend like ones own culture is the "norm."

[PhDiva]

It's amazing to me how many white people try to tell black people to shut up about slavery. Would you tell Jewish Americans to "shut up" about the Holocaust? Slavery was not that long ago, dominated most of the history of our country, and still impacts us. If you're not interested in it, don't read or comment about stories about it.

[Eyewideopen]

No of course not...don't you know, Blacks are the only people in this country that are not allowed to discuss our ancestry. Whites can listen all day long about out-of-wedlock pregnancies, incarceration rates, Black-white education gaps. But if you discuss, slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, medical racism, hundreds of unsolved civil-rights era murders and disappearances, it's "Get over it".

(I'm sure the moderator won't post this message. It may make some whites uncomfortable.)

[numbnuts]

After reading her family history I didn't feel ashamed to be white.
I felt uplifted that although slowly we as a people are growing and are starting to see beyond ones color.
Then I read the blogs and got PO.
I responded, and got deleted which I deserved.
I feel sorry for you people out there that are so full of prejudice and hate.

[StillIRise]

You should never ever feel ashamed of being who you are. The color of your skin, just like the color of my skin, may speak to the different experiences of our white and black ancestors in America, but it does not define what lies beneath our skin. It's what's in our hearts that counts, and the very fact that you were uplifted by Michelle's story and that you don't have prejudice and hatred in YOUR heart, tells me that there was never anything for you to be ashamed about.

[robXdion]

And I feel sorry for you since your own prejudice and hate blinds you empathizing with blacks still dealing with the results of slavery you can blissfully ignore.

[bbridges1962]

So...what would it take to call a truce? Obviously, most of the slave owners have passed away. I am from the state of North Carolina, and I still see slave huts around some of the older plantation homes...but I had no parts of slavery. All I know is what I have read, and what I learned in school.