Maya Soetoro-Ng Is Barack Obama's Half Sister

Barack Obama has a very diverse family tree. His half sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, 38, is one of the very few that can speak about Barack's upbringing. The first black American Presidential candidate's mother is Ann Dunham and his father is Barack Obama Sr. of Kenya. The couple separated and divorced while Barack Jr. was still a toddler.

Barack Obama Sr. sired at least four other children, all of which would be Barack's half siblings. Prior to the birth of Barack II, in August 1961, Obama Sr. married a young woman in a tribal ceremony and fathered four children.

After Dunham and Obama divorced, Ann Dunham married Lolo Soetoro of Indonesia. He is the biological father of Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama's half sister. Maya Soetor-NG recently told USA Today, "He (Obama) really was an extraordinary son and brother and he is an extraordinary father. And I want to encourage people to take in that human dimension. I do not feel as though it is at all unrelated to the kind of president he's going to be."

Maya Soetoro-Ng is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado tonight. Hopefully she'll be able to offer some valuable insights into her brother's character since their mother, Obama's father and their grandfather are all deceased and can't speak on his behalf. Barack Obama Senior died as a result of an automobile accident in 1982, his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995.