In the wake of the Obamas' visit to the White House, I've been wondering: what kind of First Lady will Michelle Obama be? Ever since Barack announced his candidacy, I have been at least as excited about his wife and daughters as I have been about him.
A big part of this is personal for me, as my own daughters are African American and over the years I have tried to collect images of beautiful Black women and girls to surround mine with affirming imagery of who they are and who they might become. I realize that as a white mother, the difficulty of this task is new for me, while Black mothers are probably used to it, but it's been an eye-opener in spite of my pre-parenting years of study of African American history and culture. There just aren't that many affirming images of Black girls and women out there in the popular culture. Hence my older daughter's first big fan object (at my encouragement, of course) was Gwen Ifill of the Newshour with Jim Leher.
Throughout Obama's run, I would tear up at the thought that little girls who looked like my little girls might become the closest thing the United States has to royalty. Take that all-white Disney princesses crowding the sidewalks at Halloween! And when there's a run on the dresses Sasha and Malia wear to big events, I can be smug in the knowledge that the color will suit my little girls' complexions perfectly, too.
But Michelle, while a wonderful role-model for my girls--smart as a whip, hugely successful in her own career, drop-dead gorgeous and by all accounts a terrific mom--has an interesting task ahead of her. Will she be a Jackie Kennedy? A Hillary Rodham-Clinton? In spite of her claims to Newsweek that she admires Laura Bush, she'll never be Laura Bush. Laura Bush is just too demure, too understated. Michelle Obama is anything but.
Michelle Obama is the first Black First Lady and this is no easy trail to blaze in a world that has a dearth of positive images of Black women. Black women are more commonly demonized in popular culture as sex-crazed and/or oversexualized hip-hop bimbos; as crack addicts; as sexless mammies with bottomless hearts for the children of white employers or white adult friends. Michelle Obama enters this cultural landscape and has already done a lot to blow it away. It can't be even a little bit easy, while she is also busy juggling such an enormous transition for her young children. And even though she assures the press that she has no interest in being Barack's chief adviser, how could she not be? She's simply too smart and accomplished not to weigh in with her opinion. A couple like Barack and Michelle must be discussing current events over their morning caffeine. Why wouldn't they continue to do so, now that Barack has the actual power to change those events?
The fact is, political spouses in this day of "partnership marriage" can't realistically be expected to just stand by while hubby makes world-changing decisions. It's the age of Hillary Clinton, whether or not she's the president-elect. The fact is, she quite possibly might have been. After eight years in the White House, might we look to Michelle Obama for her own run? Some of you might think I'm crazy, but based on what we've seen of her so far, I certainly think the country could do worse.
More Michelle:
Move Over Jackie
Michelle O's Big Decisions
The Obamas Are a Great First Family
Image: michelleobamawatch.com
