Last night, former First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage at the DNC. The excitement in the arena was palpable. It was difficult for her to speak. America’s favorite political nonpolitician was about to address the nation, and everyone was eager to hear her words.
For many, Michelle Obama embodies the nation’s best qualities. Intelligent, devoted to her family and country, empathetic, and kind, she has earned a reputation of being “exactly what the country needs” despite her reluctance to pursue such a role. Her speech, praised by many as the best of the evening, was filled with wisdom, encouragement, and warnings, cutting through the cheers and chants. However, perhaps even more impactful was the implicit message of Michelle Obama’s speech: Black womanhood matters.
Back in 2008, Michelle Obama appeared on stage wearing a long-sleeved green dress and a short straight bob. Her speech was widely praised for conveying the values of her family, the party, and the country. She stayed on message, striking a balance between not doing too much and not doing too little. The goal was to avoid rocking the boat, as the boat itself was already unstable. Michelle Obama is a Black woman married to a biracial man and mother to two Black daughters. Any mistake, any slip-up, would be scrutinized, dissected, and presented as the sole representation of Black women everywhere. There was no room for error.
At that time, Michelle Obama had reason to adhere to these concerns. The headlines, which are difficult to forget, criticized her toned arms and compared her to racial caricatures due to her clearly Black features. If she wore her braids, it could remind voters that she was indeed Black. If she showed her arms, critics would make remarks. (It’s worth noting that other prominent Black women, such as Serena Williams, have faced similar attacks.) The barbs directed at Michelle Obama during that time were rooted in and aimed at separating her Blackness from her womanhood, attempting to punish her for both.
Black women know better than anyone what it’s like to be dehumanized and reduced to parts of our whole. We have long been seen as mammies, mules, aesthetics, tokens, and superheroes, often simultaneously. If we are not serving someone or something, our worth is debated, our competence challenged. Furthermore, the obstacles faced by Black women daily line the pockets of the powerful. Despite our struggles being woven into the lives of everyone else, despite fighting for democracy again and again, we are consistently left behind.
Perhaps the Black woman who understands this best is Michelle Obama, a Black girl from the South Side of Chicago whose ordinary life led to extraordinary circumstances. As the first Black woman to enter the White House not as staff or a guest, but as a resident, she was constantly disrespected despite her position. Those nasty headlines persisted long after President Barack Obama won the election. She faced constant scrutiny for simply existing.
Fast-forward to today, and Michelle Obama is now seen as the woman who would “save us all” with her intelligence and commitment to the country. She is viewed as the ultimate unifier of the nation. Many remarked that if she were to run for President, she would win by a landslide – a Black savior of sorts.
Perhaps that is why her decision to stand unabashedly in her Black womanhood on Tuesday shifted something within me. You see, on that stage, Michelle Obama’s evolution was on full display. She proudly wore her hair in a braided ponytail. She showcased her famous toned arms by rocking . She spoke at length about the influence of a Black woman – her late mother and the family’s matriarch, Marian Robinson – on her life. She referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “my girl” and She highlighted Kamala Harris’ education at Howard University, one of the top historically Black universities in the country. All of these were nods to the pride associated with being a Black woman.
What we witnessed, besides a great speech filled with masterful prose and clear calls to action, was Michelle Obama becoming the physical embodiment of the phrase “reclaiming my time.” In this instance, Michelle Obama was publicly reclaiming her Black womanhood, on the largest political stage, during a historic presidential run.
To understand the significance of this reclamation, you must recognize that stages like that require Black women to hide parts of ourselves. Black women and girls are constantly warned not to be too much. I recall my own experiences growing up being told I was too loud or too disruptive. Even today, as a young Black woman studying policy and economics at Harvard, I’m told I’m too opinionated or too assertive.
Michelle Obama choosing to be everything she is as a Black woman on a stage like the DNC was an act of defiance. In choosing to be an unapologetic Black woman, Michelle Obama not only fulfilled her purpose, making the case for a Kamala Harris presidency, but she also showed America what Black womanhood, in its full capacity, can look like at this level of leadership. It can look like joy. It can look like style. It can look like grief. It can look like reflection. It can look like affection. It can look like heritage. It can look like history. It can look like community. It can look like humanity.
Black women, Michelle Obama told us, are human and deserve to be treated as such, whether we’re going about our daily lives or standing among some of the most powerful people in the world. As Kamala Harris continues her historic campaign, we would all do well to keep this message in mind.
