Roots

Michelle Obama's Ancestors: 'American Tapestry' Has Holes in It

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Cory Booker, Dolphus Shields, Flotus, Michelle Obama, Melvinia Shields, Heritage, Rachel Swarns, Native Americans, Obama, Virginia, History, Dna, First Lady, Alex Haley, Ancestry, Slavery, Roots, Genetics, Genealogy, Family History, Great Migration, African Americans, North Carolina, American Tapestry, Books News
Megan Smolenyak

As the genealogist who initially researched the first lady's family tree (four to five generations on all branches), I wanted to love American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White and Multicultural Ancestors of Michelle Obama, but found myself disappointed -- mostly due to what's missing.

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Michelle Obama's Ancestors: The First Lady's Multicultural, Great Migration Past (VIDEO)

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: White House, Flotus, Michelle Obama, The South, Heritage, Multicultural, Family Tree, Black History Month, History, Video, Melvinia Shields, Ancestors, First Lady, Ancestry, Chicago, Slavery, Roots, Genealogy, Family History, Great Migration, African Americans, Celebrity News
Megan Smolenyak

Several years ago, I conducted extensive genealogical research into the heritage of Michelle Obama. A few of my discoveries -- particularly those per...

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Michelle Obama's Ancestors: Purnell Shields

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 04.25.2012

Read More: Birmingham, White House, Purnell Shields, Dolphus Shields, Flotus, Michelle Obama, Heritage, Alabama, Marian Robinson, Georgia, Obama, Melvina Magruder, Black History Month, History, Ancestors, David Patterson, South Carolina, Slavery, Chicago, Ancestry, Roots, Desegregation, Genealogy, Melvina Shields, Marian Shields, Family History, Spartanburg, African Americans, Great Migration, Chicago News
Megan Smolenyak

D.T. lived in hopeful expectation, but even today, it's stunning to think that the life of this one-time slave overlapped with that of his great-granddaughter, Marian, who now resides in the White House.

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Michelle Obama's Ancestors: Rebecca Jumper (aka Coleman)

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 04.22.2012

Read More: Purnell Shields, White House, Flotus, Michelle Obama, Native American, Rebecca Coleman, Chicago, Heritage, Indian, Multicultural, Marian Robinson, Obama, Virginia, Emancipation, Ancestors, First Lady, Freedom, Ancestry, Slavery, Roots, Rebecca Jumper, Genealogy, Family History, Great Migration, African Americans, Tuscarora, North Carolina, Celebrity News
Megan Smolenyak

Michelle's maternal grandmother, Rebecca Jumper, did an admirable job of keeping her past a secret, but that's probably because she didn't know much about it herself. That's unfortunate, because hers is an intriguing history.

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Artist Spotlight: Dunn The Signtologist Talks Street Sign Art

The Huffington Post | Matt Ferner | Posted 02.14.2012

Read More: Video, Dan Ericson, Denver News, Roots, Hip Hop Culture, Dunn the Signtologist, Denver Art, Black Thought, Hip Hop Inspired Art, Denver Colorado, The Signtologist, Denver Hip Hop, Denver Culture, Colorado, Denver News

Dan Ericson, also known as "Dunn The Signtologist," got his unique nickname for his unconventional brand of street art -- painting monochromatic faces...

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Michelle Obama's Ancestors: LaVaughn Johnson

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 04.09.2012

Read More: Flotus, Michelle Obama, St. Louis, Burr Oak Cemetery, Heritage, LaVaughn Johnson, Barack Obama, History, Bud Billiken Parade, First Lady, Pullman Porters, Chicago, Roots, Fraser Robinson, Genealogy, James Preston Johnson, Family History, Phoebe Moten, Great Migration, Celebrity News
Megan Smolenyak

Of Michelle's grandparents, LaVaughn Johnson was the most like her. A native Chicagoan, she was an early product of the mixing effect of the Great Migration with parents of radically different histories.

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Michelle Obama's Ancestors: The Great Migration

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Civil Rights Movement, Flotus, Michelle Obama, Heritage, Underground Railroad, Civil Rights, History, Jim Crow, Chicago Defender, Ancestors, Chicago, Ancestry, Roots, Genealogy, African Americans, Great Migration, Celebrity News
Megan Smolenyak

This is the second in a series about the ancestry of the First Lady. The introduction can be found here: Michelle Obama's Ancestors: Chicago Beginni...

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Michelle Obama's Ancestors: Chicago Beginnings

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 03.31.2012

Read More: White House, Michelle Obama, Heritage, Multicultural, Marian Robinson, Grandparents, LaVaughn Johnson, Ancestors, First Lady, Ancestry, Chicago, Roots, Fraser Robinson, Genealogy, Family History, Great Migration, Celebrity News
Megan Smolenyak

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama's presence in the White House is historic. A hundred years from now, scholars and school children will still be stud...

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You Really Can't Go Home Again

Sonya Hamlin | Posted 03.13.2012

Read More: Harvard, Faneuil Hall, Going-Home-Again, Beacon Hill, Boston, Roots, Bunker Hill, Paul Revere's Church, Culture News
Sonya Hamlin

I made a speech in Boston yesterday and am in a state of shock. You see, I lived in the Boston area most of my grown up life. But yesterday, driving in from the airport I thought "Wait a Minute! Where am I? What's happened to my town!"

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Digging For Your Roots, Anyone?

Patricia Rust | Posted 02.28.2012

Read More: Holidays, Connection, Purpose, Finding Your Roots, Social Connection, Roots, Repurpose, Family History, Family, Travel Blogs, Travel News
Patricia Rust

I was already on a cruise through the Mediterranean, so I thought that after the pleasure of cruising, I could enjoy the thrill of research in some libraries in a country where I knew no one. Little did I know that this former country of strangers would soon become a country of friends!

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Drake Designs $5,000 Jacket (PHOTOS)

Huffington Post | Julee Wilson | Posted 02.29.2012

Read More: Hair-Beauty-Beauty, Cash Money, Roots, Canada Goose, October's Very Own, Hair-Beauty, Young Money, Drake, Black Voices News

Has Drake added luxury fashion designer to his resume? The Canadian rapper and his crew October's Very Own have teamed up with Canada Goose to desi...

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Honoring Fearless Ancestors At The Holidays

Deborah Swiss | Posted 02.24.2012

Read More: Friendship, Women, Australia, Family Traditions, Survivor, Ancestry, Holidays, Christmas, Roots, Fifty News
Deborah Swiss

The holidays offer a special time to share the cherished traditions that our children will remember and pass on to the next generation. Gathering our families together for dinners and celebrations, it's easy to forget what a long road it's been for some of our ancestors and the lucky chain of circumstances that brought us all to our holiday feasts.

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The Air That Gave Us Life

Mary Daily | Posted 12.17.2011

Read More: Origins, Roots, Hometown, Going Home, Making Peace With the Past, Ancestral Home, Homeland, Alabama, Los Angeles, Los Angeles News
Mary Daily

I will never be a true Californian. Now I know that for sure. For on the roads of Alabama, during a week in my Alabama hometown, I found something I'd been missing -- a grounding, a connection, a visceral familiarity.

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Hispanics Trace Their Raices

AP | By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ | Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Roots, Geneaology, Cultura, Hispanic Families, Hispanic Geneaology, Latino Roots, Hispanic Heritage Month, Latino Voices News

MIAMI -- Programs such as NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" and PBS' "Faces of America" are helping fueling the trend in genealogy. But for many Hispa...

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The Power of the Land

Terry Newell | Posted 10.25.2011

Read More: Land, Roots, Ireland, Culture News
Terry Newell

Nearly sixty years ago, the last twenty-two residents of the Blasket Islands left their homes for the mainland, forced there by poor fishing and the h...

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Finding Your Latino Roots In College

Cristina Ruiz | Posted 10.10.2011

Read More: Latinos, Latino, Latino Community, Cultura, College, Roots, Ivy League, Hispanic, Yale University, Hispanics, Yale, Culture, College News
Cristina Ruiz

Once at Yale, I realized that I was missing, or rather subduing, something that was vital to my being: my culture.

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6 Degrees of Separation: Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon Are Cousins

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 09.17.2011

Read More: Pbs, Six Degrees of Separation, Heritage, Kyra Sedgwick, Faces of America, History, Jimmy Carter, The Late Show, Richard Nixon, Who Do You Think You Are?, Kevin Bacon, The Late Show With David Letterman, Roots, Marilyn Monroe, Genealogy, Henry Louis Gates, Family History, Nbc, David Letterman, Entertainment News
Megan Smolenyak

Kyra Sedgwick describes the discovery that she and her husband Kevin Bacon are 10th cousins once-removed as "a little upsetting," but it shouldn't be. Here's why.

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Roots and the Revolution to End Slavery In America

Robert J. Benz | Posted 09.05.2011

Read More: Roots, Kunta Kinte, ABC Television, Alex Haley, Slavery, Politics News
Robert J. Benz

ABC's Roots bridges a sizable knowledge gap to help us comprehend the institution of slavery that had existed in this country since 1619.

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Home Belongs to the Traveler

Leah Mayor | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Americana, Chicken Dinner, Heritage, Tradition, Hometown, Travel, Home, Culture, Crane Broiler Festival, Slow Travel, Roots, Crane Missouri, Ecotravel, Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Travel, Travel News
Leah Mayor

It is in community gatherings and traditions that I look to understand how we might be better at bringing communities together -- not just as part of a distant past, but in order to forge a new kind of future.

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Lisa Kudrow: Who Do You Think You Are?

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Holocaust, Nbc, Lisa Kudrow, History, Belarus, Wwii, Who Do You Think You Are?, American History, Poland, Jewish, Roots, Genealogy, Celebrity, World War II, Family History, Celebrities, Entertainment News
Megan Smolenyak

As the author of the show's companion, how-to book, I am delighted to have the opportunity to share celebrity profiles. Since we have Ms. Kudrow to thank, it seems appropriate to start with her.

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Jersey Snore -- Par Tres

Abe Gurko | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sammi Sweethear Fragrance, Pierre Cardin, Abominable Snowman, The Situation, Guidettes, Sex and the City, Jersey Shore, Deena, Rhinebeck, Pauly D, Sammi, MTV's Jersey Shore, Chupacabra, Snooki, Roots, Jwoww, Angelina, Mtv, Double Bagger, Vinni, Entertainment News
Abe Gurko

Last season I reviewed Jersey Shore and somehow this season's review is eerily similar. Could it be because nothing has really changed besides their l...

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Did I Marry My Cousin?

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Tim McGraw, Rosie O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Books, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lionel Richie, Video, Kim Cattrall, Dna, Who Do You Think You Are?, Roots, Genealogy, Genetics, Vanessa Williams, Family History, Celebrities, Nbc, Healthy Living News
Megan Smolenyak

I was delighted this week when NBC announced the celebrities for the next season of Who Do You Think You Are?, the popular celebrity roots show (in ca...

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Let's Have Sex on TV!

Erica Watson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Roots, Television History, Tv Guide Network, Sex, TV Guide, Media News
Erica Watson

There was a time, not so long ago, when sex was taboo in the world of entertainment, especially on mainstream TV. Today, sex sells, literally. And we're all buying in to it.

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HuffPost Review: Court Yard Hounds, Plus a Conversation With CYH's Emily Robison & Martie Maguire

Mike Ragogna | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Eric Clapton, Jim Scott, The Brady Bunch, Court Yard Hounds, Americana, Alison Krauss, Mark Strayer, Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, South by Southwest, Greg Leisz, Emily Robison, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Carly Simon, Entertainment News, Roots, Jakob Dylan, The Dixie Chicks, Tom Thumb Grocery Store, Sxsw, Country Music, Entertainment News
Mike Ragogna

An interview with the Dixie Chicks' Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, who have recently recorded an album under their rootsy alter ego Court Yard Hounds.

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This Is Annie Moore at Ellis Island: $1,000 If You Can Prove Me Wrong

Megan Smolenyak | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: History, Annie Moore, Roots, Genealogy, Immigration, Ireland, Immigrant, Family History, Ellis Island, Irish, Home News
Megan Smolenyak

It seems this story has finally come full circle. Annie Moore, the Irish teenager who was the first to alight at Ellis Island, came into my life back...

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