Politics

American historian Catherine Allgor recently explained on National Public Radio that candidate wives’ fashions symbolize the kind of president their husbands aim to be. As convoluted as that sounds, after seeing Michelle Obama’s outfits over the past 18 months, I believe Professor Allgor is dead right. Michelle—or rather, her clothes—worked overtime to reassure white voters,…

Dear Michelle, You may not remember me, but I’m Sondra Huxtable’s mom. I met you and your family during parents’ weekend back when you and Sondra were at Princeton together. Words can hardly express the type of joy I felt upon seeing you and Barack and your beautiful children walk onto that stage on Election…

I am awed by Michelle Obama. Totally taken by her. Thrilled, cheering, jumping inside with glee! It’s not just because she’s black. Or because she went to Princeton with my husband. In large part, it’s because she’s making the same choice now that I made—putting her own career aside for a time to be completely…

Mom in chief, that’s the title Michelle Obama has given herself as America’s next first lady. And who’s gonna argue with no-nonsense Michelle as she steps up to take her place in history? All over the world, women and girls of color will be looking to her, not as some out of reach ideal, but…

Nov. 18, 2008—Months ago my hairdresser told me that President-elect Barack Obama would win because while his opponent wanted to become president, your husband wanted to be president. For her, and many others, you were the one who sealed the deal. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations to your husband, your family and colleagues, and to…

Chicago, the town where Barack Obama arrived without knowing a soul in 1985, is suddenly the center of the political world and—if past and present trends are any indication—will continue to wield considerable influence after Obama sets up shop in the White House. Obama loves Chicago and doesn’t mind governing from home. He held his…

Nov. 17, 2008—People think of George Bush as being the first evangelical president. But Barack Obama may bring his own evangelical flair to Washington. For all the significant changes Obama is expected to usher in, religion may be one that some people didn’t see coming. If the past eight years have been dominated by prominent…

For a split second, a recent essay on The Root called “Sudan on the Rebound?” allowed me to feel a bit hopeful. The images of commerce, opportunity and multiculturalism in a bustling East African town—in Sudan, no less—conjured fond memories of my own travels. Those memories abruptly faded with Zachariah Mampilly’s suggestion that seeking justice…

For months before my family left upstate New York for Houston, I lay awake at night worrying about where our oldest child would attend school. Then I’d wake up from my scanty slumber to begin the daily Internet quest for the “perfect” school: one we could afford (tuition-free) that scored well on statewide tests, had…

By now we’ve become familiar with the Negro Spirit Guide in pop culture. Think Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost, Sister Act and The Long Walk Home. Laurence Fishburne in Searching for Bobby Fischer and The Matrix. The Matrix was a twofer: Fishburne leads Keanu Reeves’ character to another black guide, Gloria Foster. Sidney Poitier made a…