Barack Obama has paid tribute to his mom in a touching post on Instagram where he praises her strength and “moral instruction”.
Posting a picture of her as a young mom, with Barack sitting on her lap, the 44th U.S. president wrote: “My mother, Ann Dunham, was strong, smart, and marched to her own beat.”
Ahead of his memoir “A Promised Land” released on November 17, which has sold 900,000 copies in its first 24 hours, he wrote of the memories he has recounted of his mother in his presidential memoir.
“As I recount in my book, “A Promised Land”, my mother, Ann Dunham, was strong, smart, and marched to her own beat. For her, the world offered endless opportunities for moral instruction.
“My sister Maya and I got early lessons about the struggle for civil rights, the impact of poverty on people around the world, and the importance of respecting other cultures and considering other points of view.
“My mother believed that power came not from putting people down but rather through lifting them up. And she was always certain that in the face of injustice and humanity’s more primal impulses, logic and progress would always prevail. ‘The world is complicated, Bar,’ she used to say. ‘That’s why it’s interesting.’ #APromisedLand.”
(Stanley) Ann Dunham was an American anthropologist who worked full time and was a single mom to Barack who saw his father for the last time when he was 10 years old, Barack Obama Snr died in a car crash 1982.
Barack credits his mom for shaping him into the man he became and the first African-American president of the U.S.
In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Barack Obama referred to his mother as “the dominant figure in my formative years … The values she taught me continue to be my touchstone when it comes to how I go about the world of politics.”
As someone who specialized in the rural development of Indonesia, the Kansas-born mom of two spent a lot of time in the Southeast Asian country as well in Hawaii and Seattle.
She met Barack’s dad while studying at the University of Hawaii. Barack Obama Sr was 23 years old and the school’s first African student.
They married in 1961 and shortly after Barack was born but the marriage only lasted three years.
Obama mentioned growing up without his father and the impact it had on him, influencing the way he behaves as a father to his two girls Malia and Natasha.
In an Instagram post published this week, Barack Obama published a throwback image of him and his wife Michelle carrying their two girls.
“The fact that my own father was largely absent from my childhood helped shape my ideas about the kind of father I intended to be,” he wrote.
“When Malia was born, I made a promise to myself that my kids would know me, that they’d grow up feeling my love keenly and consistently, knowing that I’d always put them first.
“While serving as President, I made sure to have dinner with Michelle, Sasha, and Malia every evening by 6:30. We’d eat some good meals and catch up on our days. That was one of the best parts of living above the store, as I sometimes called it.
“Seeing them grow up into the intelligent, strong, and compassionate young women they’ve become has been the greatest joy of my life. I’m reminded constantly that there’s no place in the world I’d rather be than with Miche and our girls—and it’s why I’ve dedicated my memoir to them. #APromisedLand“
Sadly Barack’s inspirational and influential mom was not around to see her son make history as the first African-American President of the United States. She died of ovarian cancer in 1995, just before her 53rd birthday.
Barack took his experience watching his mom fighting the disease while worrying about healthcare costs to shape his own vision of healthcare as president.
In an Instagram post on November 14 he posted an image of himself with President-elect Joe Biden mentioning the effect his mother’s sickness had on him.
“Running for president, I heard devastating personal stories from people who were suffering without decent health insurance. It reminded me of my own mother, who, while battling cancer, was forced to fret not just about her chances of survival but about whether her insurance would keep her solvent during her treatment.
“These experiences only strengthened my belief that everyone should have access to good healthcare without having to worry about whether they can afford it.”
Shortly before his mother’s death she was awarded a Ph. D. in Anthropology from the University of Hawaii.
Ann had married her second husband Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia and Barack’s sister Maya was born in 1970. Barack was just 6 years old when he moved to Jakarta, in Indonesia, returning to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents when he was 10 years old.
Still, Dunham thought about her son, worked hard for his education, and returned a few times to be with him.
Listen to Barack’s sister Maya talk about their mom’s strength in the video below, describing her as the “most empathetic person I know.”
This incredible woman’s spirit lives on in her inspirational son, he not only looks so much like her but has her empathy for people of all walks of life and a desire to help people.
Please share if you too love this throwback photo.
