Georgia police are investigating vandalism against a monument dedicated to the great-great-great-grandmother of First Lady Michelle Obama, Melvinia Shields.
Atlanta police have reason to believe the monument, which stands in Rex, Ga., may have been pushed over, according to the International Business Times.
The monument was erected about a year ago, and has become a great source of honor for the community and leaders of the quaint Georgia suburb.
"It was our little source of pride because here we are in little old Rex, Georgia, and we had ties to the White House, so there's pride in that for us," Sonna Singleton, Clayton County Commissioner, told WSB-TV. "We're going to believe just the way we showed that unity on that day here in Rex when we had the dedication of this memorial, we're going to believe that there's not that kind of hatred or dissension that someone would do this."
Etched into the dark stone of Shield's monument read the words: "Her family would endure a five-generation journey that began in oppression and would lead her descendant to become the first lady of the United States of America Michelle Obama."
A push to erect the monument in Rex came after New York Times genealogist Megan Smolynyak discovered the familial connection between Obama and Shields in 2009.
"Viewed by many as a powerful symbol of black advancement, Mrs. Obama grew up with only a vague sense of her ancestry," the Times article read.
Smolynyak revealed that Shields' son, Dolphus, was the connecting person in their lineage.
"Now the more complete map of Mrs. Obama's ancestors - including the slave mother and white father and their biracial son, Dolphus T. Shields," the report said. "For the first time fully connects the first African-American first lady to the history of slavery, tracing their five-generation journey from bondage to a front-row seat to the presidency."
