Michelle Talks About ‘Racist Incident’ with Lady at Target. But She Told A Different Story in 2012! In an interview with People magazine entitled “The Obamas: How We Deal with Our Own Racist Experiences,” the President and First Lady commented on their personal experiences of racial profiling and bias. In advance of the publication of the full interview this coming Friday, a few excerpts were released. People magazine clarifies the context: In a 30-minute conversation, the president and Mrs. Obama candidly added their stories to the national discussion of race and racial profiling that was sparked by the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Among the comments by the First Lady was her discussion of a trip to Target when she was asked by a worker to take something off the shelf. Here is the full context: The protective bubble that comes with the presidency – the armored limo, the Secret Service detail, the White House – shields Barack and Michelle Obama from a lot of unpleasantness. But their encounters with racial prejudice aren’t as far in the past as one might expect. And they obviously still sting. “I think people forget that we’ve lived in the White House for six years,” the first lady told PEOPLE, laughing wryly, along with her husband, at the assumption that the first family has been largely insulated from coming face-to-face with racism. “Before that, Barack Obama was a black man that lived on the South Side of Chicago, who had his share of troubles catching cabs,” Mrs. Obama said in the Dec. 10 interview appearing in the new issue of PEOPLE. “I tell this story – I mean, even as the first lady – during that wonderfully publicized trip I took to Target, not highly disguised, the only person who came up to me in the store was a woman who asked me to help her take something off a shelf. Because she didn’t see me as the first lady, she saw me as someone who could help her. Those kinds of things happen in life. So it isn’t anything new.” In an interview on David Letterman recounting the experience, she had a slightly different story: “No one knew that was me. Because a woman actually walked up to me, right? I was in the detergent aisle, and she said — I kid you not — she said, ‘Excuse me, I just have to ask you something.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, cover’s blown.’ She said, ‘Can you reach on that shelf and hand me the detergent?’ I kid you not. And the only thing she said — I reached up, because she was short, and I reached up, pulled it down. She said, ‘Well, you didn’t have to make it look so easy.’ That was my interaction. I felt so good.” Michelle Obama also commented on what it’s like living in the White House, coming from the South Side of Chicago: “I think people forget that we’ve lived in the White House for six years. Before that, Barack Obama was a black man that lived on the South Side of Chicago, who had his share of troubles catching cabs.” The President mentioned being treated like a valet: “There’s no black male my age, who’s a professional, who hasn’t come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn’t hand them their car keys.” The First Lady mentioned a similar type of event: “He was wearing a tuxedo at a black-tie dinner, and somebody asked him to get coffee.” They both agreed that things have gotten better in America, but that improvement is still needed. The President concluded with this: “The small irritations of indignities that we experience are nothing compared to what a previous generation experienced. It’s one thing for me to be mistaken for a waiter at a gala. It’s another thing for my son to be mistaken for a robber and to be handcuffed, or worse, if he happens to be walking down the street and is dressed the way teenagers dress.” In light of the Michael Brown and Eric Garner controversies, in addition to that of Trayvon Martin, the Obamas seem sensitive to the issues that many young black people grapple with on a daily basis. Obviously, not all Americans can relate to such experiences, and should be sensitive and receptive to such a frank discussion. Now that the Obamas are the most powerful people in the nation, they are able to enjoy privileges that most Americans find inconceivable – like taking over $40 million in vacations in just six years. The Obamas gave their People interview shortly before setting off for a 17-day vacation in Hawaii. https://youtube/watch?v=ch-UsUzp3uU
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 05:23:16 +0000
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