【2000 Archives】

Former First Lady Michelle Obama's family sure has come a long way in five generations.

American filmmaker000 ArchivesSelmadirector Ava DuVernay shared a compelling tweet paying tribute to the former First Lady's great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia "Mattie" Shields McGruder, who was born a slave in South Carolina in 1844.

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DuVernay tweeted: "Become your ancestor's wildest dreams." The inscription on the tombstone states that, at age six, Mattie was brought to the Shields farm, located in what is now the community of Rex, in Georgia's Clayton County.

Decades later, Mattie's great-great-great granddaughter, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, not only went to Princeton University but also earned her law degree from Harvard University before going on to become the 44th First Lady of the United States of America.

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DuVerney's tweet even inspired a Columbia University faculty member to share how far his own lineage has come since the days of slavery.

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No doubt, it's a true testament to recognize how far black America has come since the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was adopted into the U.S. Constitution in 1865, 21 years after Shields was born.

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It's only a matter of time before Malia and Sasha Obama continue to hold up this upward line of endurance and success, and make their great-great-great-great grandma Shields a proud lady. No pressure, girls.