Mother-in-law of Barack Obama
Settling into a new job and location is difficult under the best circumstances. For someone stepping into what is generally considered the most powerful position in the world the pressure is unfathomable. As the first African- American of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama was assisted in his assent by the formidable support of his mother-in-law, Marian Lois Robinson, who passed away of undisclosed causes on May 31. She was 86.
Like their children, Marian and Fraser C. Robinson were native Chicagoan, born in 1937 and 1935, respectively. Fraser, a city employee at a water-filtration plant, was active in Chicago government as a democratic precinct captain. As a young man he was diagnosed with the neurological disorder multiple sclerosis. He overcame this affliction to provide for his children Craig and Michelle, who would go on to attend and graduate from Princeton University. As an adult Michelle Obama would recall her father’s struggles as he walked to work using two canes. In spite of this affliction he persevered until it claimed his life in 1991 at just 55 years old.
Fraser married the former Marian Shields in 1960, and they reared Craig and Michelle Robinson in the South Shore along the city’s waterfront. She’d previously been a bank secretary before devoting herself to being a stay-at-home mom. She resumed her career as Michelle began high school, continuing until her son-in-law’s election in 2008 prompted another change in lifestyle.
The Robinsons encouraged the virtue of being outspoken in their children, advocating for them in the often oppressive environment of South Chicago, as when Craig was erroneously accused of stealing a bicycle, or when Michelle was marginalized by condescending educators in the school system.
Overtures to reside in the White House were met with resistance by a widow, who had not set foot outside the continental United States before history beckoned. She eventually complied through the influence of her son Craig, a successful Ivy League basketball coach.
“There were many good and valid reasons that Michelle raised with me, not the least of which was the opportunity to continue spending time with my granddaughters, Malia and Sasha, and to assist in giving them a sense of normalcy that is a priority for both of their parents, as has been from the time Barack began his political career,” she remembered in the foreword to her son Craig’s 2010 memoir, “A Game of Character: A Family Journey from Chicago’s South Side to the Ivy League and Beyond.”
Soldering the Weight of the World
“I would not be who I am today without the steady hand and unconditional love of my mother, Marian Shields Robinson.”
—from Michelle Obama’s
2018 memoir, “Becoming.”
“Just show me how to work the washing machine and I’m good.”
—Marian Robinson upon her arrival at the White House.
Once in place, Grandma Robinson set about the business of establishing a routine for Malia and Sasha, enforcing bedtimes and curfews, and perhaps suggesting that the high profile parent might be just a little too strict.
Her access to Air Force One afforded her opportunities to visit environs previously confined to travel books, and off she went to China, France, and Italy where she had an audience with Pope Benedict (the only person she reportedly made a point of asking to meet), and Russia.
Perhaps most notable were her trips to the African Motherland, where she visited a former slave-holding compound, the last stop for millions before they made the perilous journey westward on the Middle Passage.
Shunning the pomp and circumstance that were part and parcel of her Washington abode, Mrs. Robinson was content to sit before her window overlooking Washington, D.C., a TV tray before her, occasionally stepping outside her suite to hobnob with the butlers and ushers who ran the White House.
Occasionally, the constraints of the White House necessitated a break, provided by quick trips to a nearby CVS or other retail outlet.
In addition to her two children Craig and Michelle, Marian Lois Robinson leaves behind six grandchildren: Avery, Leslie, Malia, Sasha, Austin, and Aaron.
