Wait, Michelle Obama Has a White Cousin!

On last night's episode of Inside Edition, Debbie Shields revealed that she's the fourth cousin to First Lady Michelle Obama.

Debbie's great-great-grandfather is MObama's great-great-great-grandfather.

Through genealogical testing it was discovered that the First Lady's great-great-great-grandmother was a slave named Melvinia. When she was 6 years old Melvinia was sent to a farm where she was one of three slaves living with the Shields family of Rex, Georgia. At age 15, Melvinia was impregnated by a white man, presumed to be Charles Marion Shields, the slave owner.


Melvinia's name appears in the 1870 census, five years after the Civil War ended slavery in America. She is grouped under the last name Shields, as are her four children. Three of the children were listed as "M" standing for "mulatto," the now-archaic term describing someone of mixed race.

Melvinia's first born was Dolphus Shields. His great-granddaughter is Marion Shields, who married Frasier Robinson, a Chicago city worker. Their daughter is MObama.

President Obama talked about his wife's heritage during the presidential campaign, in his now-famous speech on race in Philadelphia. 'I am married to a Black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners," he said.

Debbie said after learning she is related to MObama she couldn't believe it.

Now, she "would like to sit down and talk with her and share memories, share memories, share photographs, stories."

Thanksgiving at the White House this year will sure be interesting.