Sen. Barack Obama announced the death today of his grandmother, who helped raise him. She was 86.
The Democratic presidential candidate announced the news in a joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, according to the Associated Press. His grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, had died peacefully in Hawaii after a battle with cancer.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility,” the siblings said.
Late last month Obama took time out of his presidential campaign to spend time with Dunham. Obama’s decision to cancel campaign events “underscores the seriousness of the situation,” said senior aide Robert Gibbs at the time.
Deborah Creighton Skinner is the editorial director at BlackEnterprise.com