Politics

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…

Somebody forgot to tell gay people that race wars are no longer in vogue. While the rest of the country has spent the last week reveling in the afterglow of Grant Park, gay America has devolved into a Sarah Palin rally. The issue is a particularly nasty California ballot initiative, Proposition 8, which passed last…

The news that Barack Obama’s confidant and transition team co-chair, Valerie Jarrett, may be the president-elect’s choice to replace him in the Senate tells you two things for certain: 1) How attractive a seat in the U. S. Senate is for anyone interested in political office. 2) How indebted Obama is to Jarrett for his…

Barack Obama went to the White House Monday to begin the transition to his presidency. He arrived, protected by the Secret Service, in a chauffeured limousine, to enter the front gate as the president-elect of the United States of America. Yes, this does confirm that Nov. 4, 2008 really did happen. A black man did…