Along with the obligatory charges of racism.
Michelle Obama Confronts Racial Stereotypes in White House Tell-All — Newsweek/Daily Beast
First lady Michelle Obama isn’t fond of being in the eye of the storm, but this week she’s had no choice. Hounded by reports that she had frequent tension-filled encounters with her husband’s White House staff, Mrs. Obama stood up for herself on CBS and declared once again that she wasn’t the stereotypical “angry black woman.”
Four years ago, few could have predicted the first African-American FLOTUS would still be defending herself against the slur that never seems to lose its appeal to the mainstream.
The fact that a conversation about the attitude and disposition of Mrs. Obama remains such a hot-button topic is a major disappointment for those who thought times would change after her husband’s election in 2008. Many in the African-American community were certain the mere presence of Michelle Obama on the international stage would effect perceptions of black women worldwide.
Surely it would be impossible to ignore the grace, charm and intellect of the 5′11″ Chicago native, with her Harvard Law degree, committed marriage, and two young daughters. Society would come to realize that Michelle Obama was not the exception but more often the rule in the black community. Magazines would have covers featuring women of all hues and Hollywood would expand storylines to offer more detailed and diverse descriptions of women of color. Terms such as “angry black woman’’ would die a fitting and long overdue death.
“The looming shadow of racism is always there and it’s very sad,’’ says Mikki Taylor, a former editor at Essence and author of Commander in Chic, about Michelle Obama. “Who was more feisty than Barbara Bush? Laura Bush always spoke her mind, but Michelle Obama takes the heat for being an independent-thinking woman. It’s so clearly based on race and backward ways of thinking.’’
HT: Newsbusters