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Michelle's Family Tree
By Margaret Kimberley
BAR editor and senior columnist
Before her bomb dropping husband received a prize
usually reserved for those waging peace, Michelle
Robinson Obama and her family were the subject of much
media scrutiny. For reasons known only to themselves,
the New York Times felt compelled to study the
first lady’s
family tree .
The
story about the Robinson family was replete with
specious investigation methods and bizarre conclusions.
There was nothing particularly noteworthy in its
description of the genealogy of a black family with
southern roots. The Times seemed caught up in a
particularly powerful form of Obamamania which made them
curious about the Robinsons, but not curious enough to
examine how slavery affects this country to this very
day.
It
all seems to be a case of white people deciding that
black people are ever so fascinating. The level of
interest never extends to the conditions black people
face on a daily basis in the 21st century,
however. Those conditions stare even the most casual
observer in the face, but are only investigated as
opportunities to condemn and to blame black Americans as
the source of any and all problems.
The
Times determined that the most noteworthy
Robinson ancestor was a woman named
Melvinia Shields
. In the year 1850, when she was six
years old, Melvinia’s slave holder listed her among his
property to be bequeathed to a relative upon his death.
She later gave birth to four children who were listed as
mulatto in the
1870 census .
Megan Smolenyak, the genealogist hired by the Times,
declared that Melvinia was “screaming to be found.” I’m
sure all of the enslaved, who were bought, sold and
willed as property cried out for recognition, but it is
the birth of Melvinia’s children that seems to spark the
most curiosity, but not for the reasons it should have.
Slavery demanded the constant reproduction of human
beings. The rape of slaves was useful not only for
pleasure, but for business too.
But
these obvious facts elude the writers at the great Gray
Lady, who felt comfortable stating only that Melvinia
was “coerced” into bearing a white man’s children. The
delicacy obscures what should have been the salient
point of any telling of slave history, that women were
under the constant threat of sexual violence. The
Times’ writers had only some degree of curiosity,
and no willingness to give any meaningful analysis to
their research. The article was an opportunity to delve
into America’s greatest shame, and into the ongoing
legacy of that shameful and criminal behavior into the
21st century.
The
Times would probably be better off ignoring any
future urge to learn any fascinating tidbits about the
negro race. It is difficult to believe the Times’
contention that Michelle Obama didn’t know she had had
at least one white ancestor. Every black person is aware
of this part of their family history. The name or names
are usually unknown, but their existence is never in
doubt, despite what the Times says on the
subject.
Melvinia’s oldest son, Dolphus Shields, is one of
Michelle Obama’s direct ancestors. He and his mother are
the only ones deemed worthy of such great scrutiny. To
add further insult, Dolphus Shields’ life was rendered
into nothing more than a simplistic “pull up by the
bootstraps” story which usually does nothing more than
let white people off the hook. If it can be said that an
individual born into slavery ended up owning a home and
a business, then America can’t be so bad after all.
It
is all very “complex” so the Times says.
Relationships between exploited slave women and their
masters were “complex,” and so is the Robinson family
tree. If there is anything complex about Michelle
Obama’s family, it is in exactly the same way that most
black families are. Some children survived slavery and
or Jim Crow and managed to live productive lives despite
the horrors of their beginnings. Some did not, but
should not be judged by New York Times
genealogists as wastrels who mysteriously fell by the
way side.
Unfortunately, reaction to the story was predictable and
useless. We are all one race, the human race. Race is a
sociological construct. Michelle Obama’s family
persevered and proved that other black people can too
and are at fault if they don’t.
After the Nobel peace prize dust settles, the family
story will reappear. Someone like Henry Louis Gates will
find a way to make money and the “we are all one people”
group will hold sway in public discourse. The story of
millions of people toiling without pay for more than two
hundred years, and the legacy it left behind will go
unnoted by the Times and their ilk in the
corporate media. It will all be turned into sentimental
mush and Melvinia Shields may still be crying out for
the recognition she ought to have received.
Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider
column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New
York City,
Margaret.Kimberley@BlackAgandaReport.com .
Source:
Black Agenda Report
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Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered
the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It
By H. W. Brands
In Greenback Planet, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands charts the dollar's astonishing rise to become the world's principal currency. Telling the story with the verve of a novelist, he recounts key episodes in U.S. monetary history, from the Civil War debate over fiat money (greenbacks) to the recent worldwide financial crisis. Brands explores the dollar's changing relations to gold and silver and to other currencies and cogently explains how America's economic might made the dollar the fundamental standard of value in world finance. He vividly describes the 1869 Black Friday attempt to corner the gold market, banker J. P. Morgan's bailout of the U.S. treasury, the creation of the Federal Reserve, and President Franklin Roosevelt's handling of the bank panic of 1933. Brands shows how lessons learned (and not learned) in the Great Depression have influenced subsequent U.S. monetary policy, and how the dollar's dominance helped transform economies in countries ranging from Germany and Japan after World War II to Russia and China today. He concludes with a sobering dissection of the 2008 world financial debacle, which exposed the power--and the enormous risks--of the dollar's worldwide reign. The Economy |
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
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Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
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The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
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January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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posted 16
October 2009
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