The first lady is grabbing the attention of the political world after a
commencement speech this weekend in which she spoke in strikingly
personal tones about her experience of being viewed -- and judged --
through racial prisms according to a report on CNN.
In a 30-minute commencement address delivered at Tuskegee University, a
historically black school in Alabama, Obama talked about the "nagging
worries that you're going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely
no reason" along with "the fear that your job application will be
overlooked because of the way your name sounds."
"As potentially the first African-American first lady, I was also the
focus of another set of questions and speculations -- conversations
sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others. Was I too
loud, or too angry, or too emasculating? Or was I too soft, too much of a
mom, not enough of a career woman?" she said. "Then there was the first
time I was on a magazine cover -- it was a cartoon drawing of me with a
huge Afro and machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I'm really
being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder, just how are
people seeing me."
Her comments come at a time when
President Barack Obama has faced criticism for only reluctantly
addressing the racial tensions gripping the country. The remarks not
only helped the White House find its voice on race but could also
establish the first lady as an important figure heading into 2016 -- a
sought-after surrogate who might help Democratic candidates, including
presidential contender Hillary Clinton, connect more deeply with
African-American voters.
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