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Remembering Scholar Dr. Donda West: 7 Things To Know About The Mother of Kanye West

Remembering Scholar Dr. Donda West: 7 Things To Know About The Mother of Kanye West

Donda West

Remembering Scholar Dr. Donda West: 7 Things To Know About The Mother of Kanye West. In this photo, Singer Kanye West performs with his mother, Donda West, outdoors during a taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at the Johnny Carson Park in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Kanye West released his long-anticipated album, DONDA, named in memory of his late mother Dr. Donda West, on Sunday, Aug. 29. West’s tenth studio album is trending in hip-hop and pop culture and people are weighing in on whether it lives up to the hype. There is no question in many fans’ minds, however, whether the namesake who birthed Kanye and inspired his latest artistic offering was an extraordinary Black queen. Many have noted West has not been the same since his mother died because of how impactful she was in his life. Here are seven things to know about the mother of Kanye West, Dr. Donda West.

1. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

According to an online obituary in The Oklahoman, Dr. West was born July 12, 1949 as the fourth child of Portwood and Lucille E. Williams. She attended Culbertson and Dunbar Elementary Schools, F.D. Moon Jr. High School, and graduated from Douglass High School in 1967.

2. Donda West was an accomplished scholar, college professor and academic chair for 31 years

Donda West earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Virginia Union University; a Master’s degree from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University):  and a Doctorate in English Education from Auburn University. She was a Fulbright Scholar, among other honors.

Her first teaching job was at Atlanta’s Morris Brown College and she also taught at Clark Atlanta University. According to her obituary, she moved to Chicago in 1980 when Kanye was 3 to accept a position at Chicago State University (CSU), where she was “promoted from assistant to associate to full professor of English.”

Then West was elected to chair the Department of English and Speech at CSU, which she did for six years before deciding to return to her first love, teaching.

3. Raised Kanye alone after divorcing his father

Donda raised Kanye as a single mother after divorcing his father, Ray West, who was one of the first Black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in 1980. She purchased a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom home in Chicago’s Soldier Field neighborhood on South Shore Drive when she moved to the windy city.

She sold the home in 2003 for $121,000 according to the New York Post. Kanye has since purchased the home back and is in the process of renovating it to turn into a community arts incubator.

Kanye and Donda had an extremely close relationship. He has gone on record saying, “My mother was my everything.”

4. Retired from teaching to be Kanye’s full-time momager

In 2004, Donda West retired from teaching to be a full-time ‘momager’ to Kanye. In addition to advising Kanye on business moves, she was also the chair of the Kanye West Foundation and CEO of West Brands, the parent company of Kanye’s businesses, MTV reported.

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5. Authored a book about raising Kanye

True to her scholarly roots, Donda West authored “Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar” just five months before her death. She expressed how proud she was of Kanye when he released his first album.

“I sat in the parking lot and listened to the whole CD. I couldn’t pull off. I wanted to be still and take it all in. I sat there, listening halfway holding back tears – halfway jamming,” Donda West wrote. “I had the music turned up real loud. I wanted to open my window and scream to everybody walking by, ‘Hey, this is my kid!’”

6. Donda West died in 2007 one day after having cosmetic surgery

On Nov. 10, 2007, Donda West died after having liposuction, a tummy tuck, and a breast reduction the day before. She was 58 at the time.

The cause of death was inconclusive, according to the coroner’s report, however, it says heart failure and multiple post-operative factors played a role. One doctor, Andre Aboolian of Beverly Hills, refused to perform the cosmetic surgery on Donda, according to CNN.

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Aboolian said she needed medical clearance before he could proceed. “I always insist on a medical clearance for women over 40, and in this instance, it was particularly important because of a condition she had that I felt could have led to a heart attack,” Aboolian said in a statement through his publicist.

The doctor who did perform Donda’s surgery was Jan Adams, who was sued for malpractice twice in relation to Donda’s death.

7. Inspired the Donda West Law in California to tighten requirements to have plastic surgery

After Donda West died, then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed the Donda West Act, “which requires that all cosmetic surgery patients receive prior medical clearance following a physical examination,” El Pais reported.

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