DNA helps tell story of first lady's forebears [View all]

[MnExpat]

Research into Michelle Obama's roots reveals white relatives across the South who had no inkling of their connection to her.

REX, GA. - Joan Tribble held tightly to her cane as she ventured into the overgrown cemetery where her people were buried. There lay the pioneers who once populated north Georgia's frontier, where white men planted corn and cotton, fought for the Confederacy and owned slaves.

The settlers interred here were mostly forgotten over the decades as their progeny scattered across the South, embracing unassuming lives. But one line of her family took another path, heading north on a winding journey that ultimately led to the White House.

The white men and women buried here are the forebears of Tribble, a retired bookkeeper who delights in her two grandchildren and her Sunday church mornings. They are also ancestors of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Many of them, like Tribble, 69, are still grappling with their wrenching connection to the White House. "You really don't like to face this kind of thing," said Tribble, whose ancestors owned the first lady's great-great-great-grandmother.

Some of Tribble's relatives have declined to discuss the matter beyond the closed doors of their homes, fearful that they might be vilified as racists or forced to publicly atone for their forebears.

Tribble has decided to openly accept her history and her new extended family.

http://m.startribune.com/nation/?id=159317435&c=y