Virginia McLaurin, the 113-year-old who met the Obamas in 2016, passed away Monday.
McLaurin, who was then 106 years old, went viral after she broke out into a two-step with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Upon meeting them, she exclaimed, “I thought I would never live to get in the White House and I tell you, I am so happy. A Black president, a Black wife, yes! And, I am here to celebrate Black history, that’s what I’m here for!”
The foster grandmother and life-long volunteer was visiting the White House for a Black History Month reception when she met the First Family. In 2016, the D.C. Council honored her with a resolution for her decades of volunteer work at D.C. schools.
According to a statement from her family on Facebook, the centenarian had been under hospice care and died at home. “She lived an incredibly full life and appreciated all the love she received…. She had an extraordinary memory, sharing stories of family’s life as sharecroppers in South Carolina before traveling north in the Great Migration.”
The family also shared a GoFundMe for a memorial fund in her honor.
Rest in peace and power Ms. Virginia!
