You Shaped Who I am—Michelle Obama Tells Mum At 85
OpenLife Nigeria reports that Michelle Obama has penned down beautiful lines that exposed the care and intuitions she gained from her mother, Marian Lois Robinson (née Shields) on the occasion of her 85th birthday.
Born on July 29, 1937, Marian Lois Robinson gave birth to the Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States and Craig Robinson, a basketball executive.
The mother-in-law of 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, was the fourth of seven children—five girls, followed by two boys—born to Purnell Nathaniel Shields, a house painter and carpenter, and his wife Rebecca Jumper, a licensed practical nurse.
Both parents had multi-racial ancestry.
Her mother’s grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields ( 1860–1950), was a direct descendant of slavery, with his mother enslaved and his white father the heir of the slaver; he had moved from rural Georgia to Birmingham, Alabama, where he established his own carpentry and tool sharpening business.
His descendants would eventually move to Chicago during the Great Migration.
Writing on her Facebook wall, Michelle Obama said:
Happy birthday to the woman who has guided me through life. Your love, your support—all of your thoughtful advice—means more to me than you’ll ever know. You’ve always been my backstop—a calm and nonjudgmental witness to my life and a vital source of my sanity. Thank you for teaching me how to trust my own judgement and for always giving me those much-needed reality checks. I’ve dedicated a chapter to sharing your wonderful parenting advice in The Light We Carry, and I can’t wait for everybody to take in all of your words of wisdom. I love you so much, mom!
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