In Good Company: Ann Dunham

To all those who say that you must give up your career and that the odds are stacked against you once you have kids

Barack Obama and his mother

Look at Ann Dunham. She was 18 when she had her son, Barack Obama Jr., and 20 when Barack Obama Sr. left the family to pursue studies elsewhere. A single mother at 20, with a biracial son in the 1960s? It’s hard to imagine.

Not only did her son grow up to break all types of racial barriers, but she had a remarkable life as well. She went on to receive her Ph.D, and had a wonderful career in anthropology.

She was able to balance her career aspirations with being a good mother, intensely interested in the best for her kids. President-Elect Obama often recounts the mornings his mother woke him up at 4:30 a.m. to study English while they lived in Indonesia. That’s dedication only a mom could understand.

Read this incredibly long, well-written piece on his mother from Time. She was a remarkable woman.

Comments

  1. There is no other love like that of a parent who loves unconditionally. The love that a single parent has for their child is THE most unconditional, lol. I am so proud to be one and even more proud each time that I see the wonderful success of single parents and their children.

    I know that Ann is looking down on Barack, chanting, job well done.

  2. I absolutely love this installment to The Young Mommy Life! Ann was a phenomenal woman that raised a phenomenal man. I so wished she and his grandparents could have lived to see this day. I like to think that his grandmother knew before hand the great change the world was getting ready to see, and that’s why she went on home to be with her Lord.

    A Woman’$ Worth
    awomans-worth.blogspot.com