|
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
*
* * * *
*
* * * *
posted 16
October 2009 |
