Introduction

As a Black woman and voting citizen in 2008, it was exciting to know that America could have a Black woman as its first lady in my lifetime. However, that excitement was quickly challenged when I logged into Facebook to see that people who had been friends for most of their life were arguing about the racial implications of the July 21, 2008, cover of the New Yorker (Blitt 2008). The cover sparked an immediate public outcry for its racist depiction of the Obamas. The image, regardless of its satirical intent, became a ghostly reminder of the way that Michelle Obama, a Black woman, citizen of the United States, is viewed in America a mere 153 years after the last enslaved African was freed.

Michelle Obama's image, like that of a number of successful Black women, is shrouded in myth. For strong proponents of oppressive agendas, it is exceptionally remarkable when Black people escape systems disguised as American democracy meant to block their access to privileges guaranteed by the Constitution. In her college thesis, Michelle Obama reflects on her place in America that sees her as Black before all else (Robinson 1985). Rather than the problematic nature of her existence in the system being discussed, it is Michelle Obama's lack of gratitude shown toward the oppressor that became the focus of the discussion. Those who chose to diminish her personhood were certainly going to question her ability to serve as first lady of the United States. Participants in maintaining the system wonder how Black people like Michelle Obama managed to escape the margins. How is it that she was able to attend Princeton and Harvard? How is possible that she survived the election and subsequent eight years as first lady despite many Americans challenging her authority due to her race and gender? How did she manage to survive the social media assaults on her character? “Michelle Obama most forcefully encountered the myths about black women in three areas: conversations about her body, discussions about her role as mother, and speculations about her marriage” (Harris-Perry 2013, 277).