Ann Dunham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ann Dunham
|
|
|---|---|
Dunham in 1960
|
|
| Born |
Stanley Ann Dunham
November 29, 1942 |
| Died | November 7, 1995 (aged 52) |
| Education |
|
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Relatives | Charles T. Payne (uncle) |
Stanley Ann Dunham (born November 29, 1942 – died November 7, 1995) was an American anthropologist. This means she studied human societies and cultures. She focused on how people in Indonesia lived and worked, especially in rural areas. She is also known as the mother of Barack Obama, who became the 44th president of the United States.
Ann Dunham was born in Wichita, Kansas. She studied at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu. There, she earned her bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees in anthropology. She was very interested in crafts, like weaving, and how women contributed to small home-based businesses. Her studies focused on women's work and blacksmithing in Indonesia.
To help reduce poverty in villages, she created programs that offered small loans, called microcredit. She worked with organizations like the United States Agency for International Development and the Ford Foundation. Later in her life, she worked with Bank Rakyat Indonesia. She helped apply her research to one of the world's largest microfinance programs.
After her son became president, people became more interested in Ann Dunham's work. The University of Hawaiʻi held events about her research. An exhibition of her Indonesian batik textile collection traveled across the United States. A book based on her PhD studies, Surviving against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia, was published. A biography about her, A Singular Woman, also came out in 2011. Her work continues to inspire students through special funds at the University of Hawaiʻi.
Barack Obama has said that his mother was "the dominant figure in my formative years." He shared that the values she taught him still guide him in politics.
Contents
Ann Dunham's Early Life
Ann Dunham was born on November 29, 1942, in Wichita, Kansas. She was the only child of Madelyn Lee Payne and Stanley Armour Dunham. Her family moved often because of her father's work. They lived in California, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
In 1955, her family moved to Seattle, Washington. She attended Nathan Eckstein Junior High School there. In 1957, they moved to Mercer Island. Ann went to the new Mercer Island High School. Her teachers encouraged her to question social norms and think for herself.
Friends from high school remember her as very smart and ahead of her time. One friend called her "the original feminist." She enjoyed reading deep books and thinking about important ideas. She was known as Stanley through high school, a name that sometimes caused teasing. But by college, she started using her middle name, Ann.
Family and Marriages
In 1960, after high school, Ann and her family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. She enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.
First Marriage
While studying Russian, Ann met Barack Obama Sr.. He was the first African student at the university. They married on February 2, 1961, in Hawaii. Ann was three months pregnant at the time.
On August 4, 1961, Ann gave birth to her first child, Barack Obama, in Honolulu. She later studied at the University of Washington in Seattle for a year. She lived there as a single mother with her baby. Her husband continued his studies in Hawaii. When he finished, he moved to Harvard University. Ann returned to Hawaii and continued her education. Her parents helped her raise young Barack. Ann and Barack Obama Sr. divorced in January 1964.
Second Marriage
At the East–West Center, Ann met Lolo Soetoro. He was a student from Indonesia. They married in Hawaii in 1965. In 1967, Ann graduated from the University of Hawaii. She then moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, with her six-year-old son, Barack, to join her husband.
In Indonesia, Lolo Soetoro worked as a surveyor. The family lived in Jakarta. On August 15, 1970, Ann and Lolo had a daughter, Maya Kassandra Soetoro. Ann made sure her children had a good education. She sent young Barack back to Hawaii in 1971 to attend Punahou School. Her mother, Madelyn Dunham, helped pay for his school.
In 1972, Ann and Maya moved back to Hawaii. Ann started graduate studies in anthropology at the University of Hawaii. After three years, Ann and Maya returned to Indonesia in 1975 for Ann's research. Her son, Barack, stayed in Hawaii to finish high school with his grandparents. Ann and Lolo Soetoro divorced in 1980. Ann remained friendly with both of her ex-husbands. She encouraged her children to stay connected to their fathers.
Ann Dunham's Professional Life
Ann Dunham had a career in rural development. She worked to support women's work and provide microcredit to people in need. She worked with groups that helped with human rights and women's rights in Indonesia.
From 1968 to 1972, she helped start the Ganesha Volunteers at the National Museum in Jakarta. From 1972 to 1975, she taught crafts like weaving and batik at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
In 1977, Ann taught a course at the University of Indonesia for the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency. From 1977 to 1978, she researched village industries in Indonesia. She was interested in how people made things by hand.
She worked as a consultant for the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Jakarta. She also worked for the Indonesian Ministry of Industry on a program funded by USAID.
From 1981 to 1984, Ann worked for the Ford Foundation in Jakarta. There, she helped create a successful model for microfinance. This model is now widely used in Indonesia.
She also worked as a consultant for the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan from 1986 to 1987. Her work helped small businesses in rural areas.
From 1988 to 1995, Ann was a consultant and research coordinator for Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). This is Indonesia's oldest bank. Her work was supported by USAID and the World Bank. In 1993, she also worked for Women's World Banking in New York. She helped them prepare for important global conferences on women's issues.
On August 9, 1992, Ann earned her PhD in anthropology from the University of Hawaii. Her long research paper was about blacksmithing in Indonesian villages. It showed how these small industries could survive and even do well. Her research challenged common ideas about poverty. She showed that poor communities often have strong skills and traditions.
Ann Dunham created many professional papers and notes. These are now kept at the National Anthropological Archives. They include her research, photos, and reports. Her field notes have been put online, and people can help transcribe them.
Illness and Death
In late 1994, while working in Indonesia, Ann Dunham began to feel sick. She returned to the United States in early 1995. She was diagnosed with uterine cancer that had spread.
She moved back to Hawaii to be near her mother. Ann Dunham passed away on November 7, 1995, just before her 53rd birthday. After a service, her children spread her ashes in the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii. Barack Obama later spread his grandmother's ashes in the same spot.
Barack Obama has spoken about his mother's death. He mentioned how she worried about medical bills during her illness. Her employer's health insurance covered most costs, but she still faced challenges with other expenses.
Lasting Impact
In September 2008, the University of Hawaii at Mānoa held an event about Ann Dunham's work. In 2009, her book Surviving against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia was published. Her daughter, Maya Soetoro-Ng, wrote the introduction.
Also in 2009, an exhibition of Ann Dunham's collection of Javanese batik textiles toured museums in the United States. She loved these beautiful fabrics and collected many different kinds.
In December 2010, Ann Dunham was given the Bintang Jasa Utama. This is Indonesia's highest award for civilians. It honors people who have made important contributions to society and culture.
A detailed biography about her, A Singular Woman, was published in 2011. The University of Hawaii has also created special funds in her name. These funds support faculty and students studying anthropology. A scholarship for young women graduating from her high school was also started in her honor.
In 2012, President Obama and his family visited an exhibition of his mother's work. A film about Ann Dunham, called Obama Mama, was shown in 2014.
Personal Beliefs
Barack Obama has written about his mother's beliefs. He said she was "one of the most spiritual souls I ever knew." But she was also a bit skeptical of organized religion. She believed in finding truth and beauty in many places.
Her daughter, Maya Soetoro-Ng, said her mother was not an atheist. She was more of an agnostic. This means she believed it's hard to know for sure if God exists. Ann encouraged her children to read different religious texts. She wanted them to see the good in all beliefs. She felt that Jesus was a wonderful example, but that some Christians did not always act in a Christian way.
Ann Dunham's high school friend, Maxine Box, remembered Ann as someone who loved to challenge ideas. She was always thinking deeply about the world.
See Also
Images for kids
-
Dunham in 1960
-
Stanley Armour Dunham, Ann Dunham, Maya Soetoro and Barack Obama, mid-1970s (l to r)
