President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama Still Face Racial Biases
Michelle Obama says she's no stranger to racism, even after she was already the first lady. President Barack Obama himself, also said, he had to deal with subtle racist instances.
People magazine reports that Michelle Obama has also become a victim of racism in America. The first lady told the publication that even though her husband Barack Obama was sworn into presidency, she was still mistaken for a Target store worker. "I tell this story -- I mean, even as the first lady - during that wonderfully publicised 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," Michelle Obama said. "Because she didn't see me as the first lady, she saw me as someone who could help her," she added. She deduced that she did not think this was a big deal then because "those kinds of things happen in life" and is not anything new.
Michelle Obama also shared that her husband, the President, did not suddenly stop dealing with little racist incidents just because he became the head of state. She shared that there was a time when the President attended a black-tie dinner and he was asked to get coffee. Barack Obama himself shared to People magazine that he does not know anyone in the black community he grew up in or his age who did not experience some sort of racism, intentional or not. He said that most of black males his age experienced being handed another persons car keys while they are just standing outside a restaurant waiting for their own cars.
Even though President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama said that their racist experiences are noteworthy, they are incomparable to what the earlier generations of black people had to endure. The President said that even though their own racist experiences were irritating and undignified, these are nothing compared to being misconstrued as a robber and imprisoned just because one is black.
Breitbart News, however, later published a counter piece saying that Michelle Obama's story probably should not used as an example of racial bias. This is because short people asks tall people to get things all the time and no one would think the first lady would be pushing her own cart at Target. Moreover, it is not belittling to be asked to get something.