Excerpt
SUMMARY: When Rachel Swarns began research on First Lady Michelle Obama's American lineage, she discovered remarkable family sagas, including the story of Mrs. Obama's white great-great-great-grandfather. Gwen Ifill talks to New York Times' Rachel Swarns about her new book on the genealogy of Michelle Obama, "American Tapestry."
GWEN IFILL (Newshour): Among the four million slaves living in the United States on the eve of the Civil War, there was a 10-year-old girl who, a century-and-a-half later, would turn out to be the third-great-grandmother of Michelle Obama.
Even Mrs. Obama didn't know this family history until New York Times reporter Rachel Swarns unearthed her legacy in 2009. The first lady's ancestry, both black and white, are a complicated heritage shared by many Americans.
"American Tapestry," the story of the black, white, and multiracial ancestors of Michelle Obama, takes us on that journey. Its author, Rachel Swarns, joins me now.
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