Topic: John Punch

1 chapters across the catalog

44: Big Bank Barry
• 1:51:35 - 1:57:04

44: Big Bank Barry

Ancestry.com and the Slavery Lineage Narrative

To counter criticisms that Obama had no connection to American slavery, Ancestry.com released a study claiming he was the 11th great-grandson of John Punch, the first documented enslaved African in Virginia, via his mother's white lineage. The segment also notes the media's focus on Michelle Obama's great-great-great-grandmother, Melvinia, to solidify the family's "slavery to the White House" narrative.