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Tag: Michelle Obama

  • Michelle Obama’s mother passes on

    Michelle Obama’s mother passes on

    Former US First Lady Michelle Obama, Marian Robinson, mother of former passed away at the age of 86.

    Her family announced that Robinson died “peacefully” on Friday morning.

    Robinson was a familiar presence at the White House throughout Barack Obama’s presidency from 2009 to 2017.

    During those eight years, she devoted much of her time to caring for her granddaughters, Malia and Sasha, the daughters of Michelle and Barack Obama.

    In a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Mrs Obama called Robinson her “rock, always there for whatever I needed”.

    “She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today,” she wrote.

    Robinson was often seen with her two granddaughters, Malia and Sasha Obama

    Robinson was often seen with her two granddaughters, Malia and Sasha Obama


    In a separate tweet, Mr Obama said that “there was and will be only one Marian Robinson”.

    “In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life,” he added. “And we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example.”

    No further details were given about the cause of death.

    Born in 1937, Robinson grew up one of seven children in Chicago, the city where she spent much of her life before agreeing to come to Washington DC after Mr Obama’s electoral victory.

    Early in her life, she studied to become a teacher before working as a secretary. She raised Michelle and her other child, Craig, together with her husband Frasier Robinson on Chicago’s South Side.

    “At every step, as our families went down paths none of us could have predicted, she remained our refuge from the storm,” the Obama statement said.

    “On Election Night in 2008, when the news broke that Barack would soon shoulder the weight of the world, she was there, holding his hand.”

    An image taken on the night in 2008 when her son-in-law made history as the nation’s first African-American president showed Robinson sitting on a sofa with him, watching the results come in.

    Barack Obama said that there was and will be only one Marian Robinson

    Barack Obama said that “there was and will be only one Marian Robinson”
    The statement added that Robinson had agreed to move to the White House after a “healthy nudge” from Barack and Michelle Obama, who, along with their daughters, “needed her”.

    It was said that she insisted on doing her own laundry there.

    In a later interview with CBS, the BBC’s US partner, Robinson said she felt compelled to move to Washington because she felt “like this was going to be a very hard life” for her daughter and son-in-law.

    “And I was worried about their safety,” she added. “I was worried about my grandkids. That’s what got me to move to DC.”

    The lifelong Chicago resident had never boarded a flight out of the US until she flew aboard Air Force One with the Obamas to France in 2009.

    Robinson – whom Mr Obama once called “the least pretentious person” he knew – said that it was a “huge adjustment” to have her needs met by White House staff.

    “Rather than hobnobbing with Oscar winners or Nobel laureates, she preferred spending her time upstairs with a TV tray, in the room outside her bedroom with big windows that looked out at the Washington Monument,” the family statement said.

    “The only guest she made a point of asking to meet was the Pope,” it added.

    Her privacy afforded her a freedom envied by the rest of her family. David Axelrod, a senior Obama advisor, told CNN on Friday “she would often slip out of the White House on her own and visit with friends”,

    “She really wasn’t looking for attention,” he added.

    On Mother’s Day – just weeks before Robinson’s death – Mrs Obama announced that an exhibit at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago would be named in her honour.

    “In so many ways, she fostered in me a deep sense of confidence in who I was and who I could be, by teaching me to think for myself,” Mrs Obama said in a video announcement.

    “I simply wouldn’t be who I am today without my mom.”

  • How did I get so lucky? – Obama’s Val’s day message to Michelle

    How did I get so lucky? – Obama’s Val’s day message to Michelle

    Former US President Barack Obama captured hearts worldwide with a touching Valentine’s Day message dedicated to his beloved wife, Michelle Obama. 

    In a heartwarming gesture that epitomizes their enduring love, Barack Obama expressed gratitude and admiration for his “best friend” on this special occasion.

    With the simple yet profound words, “How did I get so lucky? Happy Valentine’s Day to my best friend,” shared on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Obama’s message radiated affection and appreciation for the woman who has been his partner, confidante, and source of strength throughout their journey together.

    The sentiment shared by Barack Obama not only encapsulates the deep bond between the former First Couple but also resonates with millions who have followed their inspiring relationship over the years. 

    Their love story has become an example of enduring partnership, transcending the political arena to touch the hearts of people around the globe.

    The sincerity and warmth of his message also reflect the depth of their connection and the profound impact Michelle has had on his life.

    Their commitment to each other and to their family has inspired countless individuals to strive for love and unity in their own lives.

  • Reason behind Michelle Obama’s initial lack of of interest in Barack

    Reason behind Michelle Obama’s initial lack of of interest in Barack

    The couple crossed paths in 1989 and tied the knot a mere three years later, indicating that despite their initial meeting not being particularly enchanting, Barack must have done something right.

    Their first encounter occurred shortly after their graduation from Harvard, both finding themselves at the same law firm—Michelle embarking on her career and Barack serving as a summer associate.

    While Barack wasted no time in extending an invitation for a date, Michelle initially declined, deeming it somewhat tacky.

    At that juncture, there was considerable buzz surrounding Barack, though Michelle remained skeptical of the hype.

    Following their eventual date and Barack’s introduction to her family, Michelle’s initial skepticism found an echo in her brother Craig.

    There was a prevailing assumption that Barack wouldn’t stick around for the long haul, swiftly departing from Michelle’s life.

    However, as history reveals, this assumption couldn’t have been more wrong. Barack had been captivated by Michelle from their very first meeting, and even today, their enduring love is evident in the way he gazes at her.

  • DJ Switch shares the unforgettable moment she met Michelle Obama

    DJ Switch shares the unforgettable moment she met Michelle Obama

    Ghana’s youngest DJ, Erica Armah Bra-Bulu Tandoh, known as DJ Switch, has shared some amazing photos of her encounter with former US First Lady Michelle Obama.

    DJ Switch, who rose to fame after winning Talented Kidz in 2017, has been making waves on the international music scene with her skills and passion.

    Last year, she performed for the Obama Foundation’s ‘Get Her There’ Campaign, which aims to empower girls around the world through education.

    DJ Switch used her talent and voice to support the cause and inspire other girls to pursue their dreams.

    In a recent post on Instagram, DJ Switch revealed that she also met Michelle Obama, who is the co-chair of the Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation.

    She shared some stunning photos of herself posing with the former First Lady and holding a handwritten note from her.

    DJ Switch captioned the post: “The time I performed and met the wonderful and brilliant former First Lady of the United States @michelleobama at the @obamafoundation of the @girlsopportunityalliance #GetHerThere.”


    Fans and celebrities react to DJ Switch’s post DJ Switch’s post attracted a lot of praise and admiration from her fans and fellow celebrities.

    They congratulated her for her achievements and wished her more success in the future.

    Cookieteegh commented: Aaawwwnnnnnnn go GIRL.

    emeliabrobbey commented: Congratulations, my love .

    iamadwoasaahint commented: Awwwww got goosebumps, you are anointed and blessed for this. Love you and I pray that God continues to enlarge your coast.

    abraham_klutsey commented: This great beautiful sista.afia commented: Awww keep scoring baby girl❤️.

    beverly_afaglo commented: Well done, girl .

    panaoh181922 commented: TV3 best in everything @tv3_ghana for the platform u gave her.

    DJ Switch is indeed a star in the making and we are proud of her achievements. Way to go, DJ Switch!

  • Marriage lessons from Michelle Obama

    Michelle Obama, the former US first lady has been the cause of the discourse around marriages in the last one month or so. Social media is awash with the videos she is doing to promote her new book and the think pieces that keep stirring internet wars particularly on twitter cannot stop coming.

    Her marriage has always been admirable to a huge percent of the world’s population. Men have wanted something that solid, and women too have coveted her life, and deeply so, because we have always only seen the fine print of the work that has gone into making it.

    To us it has always been a really good looking husband, who became the first black man with African roots to rule one of the world’s most powerful nation, and their two beautiful children, who grew up right before our eyes.

    We had never seen her marriage, and the things she has had to endure to stay with her man with a deeper perspective until now when she is being really candid with the uncomfortable truths about what it means to be a married woman.

    This discomfort she has stirred in women is what brings the question I am trying to answer. Can a marriage exist without taking too much from a woman? Are we eternally destined to always give more? To sacrifice more? And to endure the deep inequalities that Feminism has tried to eradicate?

    I might not have an answer because I have never been married but here are a few lessons I have picked from listening to the former first lady.

    Marriage Can Never Be Equal

    You can never negotiate for a feminist relationship with a heterosexual man. By Feminist here I mean an an equal relationship.

    Michelle Obama reacts to viral video of fan calling husband Barack fine

    The man may be willing and conscious about inequality but marriage as it is, is a patriarchal system that was built upon the subjugation of women, and until this system is completely dismantled women are always going to suffer inequalities in it. The only thing women can do at present is negotiate for less harm.

    Marriage Comes At A Cost To Women

    Many women wish to get married, and their frustration towards Michelle is rooted in the fact that they still hope that marriage can benefit them in the ways that it benefits men.

    Marriage though is a system that was borne out of the need of consolidating resources between families in an era when women were not anything more than mere vessels charged with the duty of child bearing.

    This is why despite being married to one of the most progressive men in the world, Michelle struggled with the same basic things that pain women of all social classes.

    That is being or of burdened with the labor raising kids alone while the man who is supposed to be an equal partner is out there chasing his career and personal ambitions.

    Her Lived Reality Is Quite Universal

    What Michelle has done is that she has revealed the truth of what marriage truly looks like. The truth we see everywhere across the world and that truth we are still trying so hard to resist.

    Barack would find time to go to that gym, and to golf while she was feeling totally overwhelmed by the labor that comes with taking care of two young children. According to her, they had a difficult ten years where she felt she was investing more into the marriage than he was.

    Our anger towards her is a resistance to the truth, and this shouldn’t be the case. The question we should be pondering upon at present is, what can we do to change the lived realities of women in marriage? How can we negotiate for less labor?

    Marriage Wouldn’t Be So Hard If Men Did Their Own Share Of Labor

    What caused the discomfort she endured for ten years in marriage was the reproductive labor she had to put in when the kids were younger with little help from her husband who always found time for rest at a time when she was sinking into the anxieties of motherhood.

    If men took up to doing their own share of labor in their households, there would be less resentment in marriage.

  • Michelle Obama reacts to Viral Video of woman calling Barack ‘Fine as a motherf*cker’

    Michelle Obama had a few thoughts for the woman who called her husband Barack Obama “fine as a motherfucker” during a recent rally before the midterms.

    The video was shown to Michelle during her latest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where she stopped by to promote her new book The Light We Carry. Michelle had apparently never seen the viral clip before, which involved a woman complimenting her husband while he was on the campaign trail at the Detroit Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, prior to the Midterm elections.

    The 61-year-old former president said in the clip, “Sometimes going on a campaign trail feels a little harder than it used to not just because I am older and grayer….”

    An audience member then called out, “You still fine as a motherfucker.”

    As the audience laughed, along with Obama, he chimed in, “I’m not gonna tell Michelle you said that…Although Michelle does agree, she knows.”

    “I hadn’t seen that,” Michelle told Kimmel at the 10-minute mark of the video above. “I heard about it. He came home that was the first thing he said. I said, ‘How’d it go?’ He said, ‘Somebody said I was fine. I was like, ‘Oh really? That’s so sweet.”

    The late-night host then asked Michelle if she would ever share stories like that with her husband, to which she shook her head. “He doesn’t need to know all my business,” she said.

    Barack has previously showered his wife with similar compliments. After the couple’s post-presidency portraits were unveiled at the White House in September, Barack said the artist Sharon Sprung had perfectly captured the fact his wife was “fine.”

    “I want to thank [artist] Sharon Sprung for capturing everything I love about Michelle. Her grace, her intelligence, and the fact that she is fine,” Obama said during the unveiling of the portraits in the East Room as people clapped and cheered.

    “She is. Her portrait is stunning,” Barack added before Michelle thanked him for his “spicy remarks.”

    Elsewhere in her interview with Kimmel, Michelle spoke about her new book, which she said wasn’t quite a self-help book, but was meant to inspire since so many people have asked her for advice over the years.

    “Dealing with fear, feeling invisible, how do you find your voice, people are trying to figure out how to get through life and not everybody has a mentor,” Michelle said. “People don’t always have parents they can get that kind of advice from. So what this book is, is just my offering of the tools that I’ve developed over my 58-years that have helped me.”

    Source: Complex.com

  • Michelle Obama: Being kind to myself is a challenge

    Michelle Obama has admitted she struggles with negative thoughts about her appearance and her “fearful mind”, but that women need to “learn to love ourselves as we are”.

    In her new book, the former US first lady reveals she “hates how I look all the time and no matter what”.

    But she has found strategies to be kind to herself, she told BBC Breakfast.

    She said: “I’m still a work in progress and facing myself each morning with something kind is still a challenge.”

    She continued: “I try every day to, as I say in the book, greet myself with a positive message.

    “And it’s really a shame that so many of us, particularly women, have a hard time just looking at our own image and not tearing it apart and figuring out what’s wrong.

    “I think that’s at the core of some of our unease and unhappiness, because if we don’t start out by learning to love ourselves as we are, it’s hard to pass that on to others.

    “So I am working on it every single day.”

    Former US first lady Michelle Obama poses next to her official White House portrait, painted by Sharon SprungReuters
    Michelle Obama returned to the White House to unveil a portrait in September

    Mrs Obama, 58, was in the White House with husband Barack between 2009 and 2017.

    In the only UK interview for her book The Light We Carry, BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty told her: “You are seen as a powerhouse.

    “You are seen as this confident woman, this established woman, this smart woman… If you’re feeling like this, what hope do the rest of us have?”

    Mrs Obama replied: “I think that’s the point of sharing it.

    “We all have those thoughts, those negative thoughts that we’ve lived with for years, especially as women and as women of colour, where we don’t see ourselves reflected in our society.

    “I think we’re in a better position, but one of the things I talked about was what it was like growing up, not just as a black woman, but as a tall black woman, before the Serena and Venus [Williams] years, before we had the WNBA [Women’s National Basketball Association] and had role models other than gymnasts to look up to.

    “It is important for us to see who we can be in order to feel good about ourselves.”

    ‘Comfortably afraid’

    She also spoke about the importance of dealing with the “fear that naturally arises in all of us”.

    “If you can master your fear, if you can become comfortably afraid – be afraid of the things that can actually cause you danger, but be open to the things that can push you forward – there’s real powerful growth on the other side of that feeling of fear.

    “I can say now that everything that I am today is the result of me pushing past my comfort zone, quieting my fearful mind and taking on that challenge that might have otherwise held me back.”

    In the book, Mrs Obama reveals that the most anxious she has been in her life was when her husband told her he wanted to run for president.

    “It’s strange to think I could have altered the course of history with my fear,” she writes.

    She told BBC Breakfast it was “absolutely worth taking that leap of faith” and giving him her support.

    Michelle and Barack Obama in 2019Getty Images
    Mrs Obama said she sometimes doubts the difference she and her husband made in the White House

    “I lived through the legacy of too many people, particularly African American people, my grandfathers included, whose lives were constricted by their fear of something different,” she explained.

    Her grandparents grew up at a time when “there were real fears that a black man showing up in the wrong neighbourhood, at the wrong time, in the wrong place, looking the wrong way, could mean his death”, she said.

    “So with each passing year, I feel like my grandfathers’ world got smaller and smaller and smaller, both of them, to the point where they didn’t trust anyone that they didn’t know, not even doctors. And that, with one of my grandparents, led him to miss a diagnosis of lung cancer.

    “I use that as an example of how so many of us are locked in our sameness, afraid to meet or understand anyone that doesn’t look like us, feel like us, agree with us. That keeps our world small and it makes us susceptible to disinformation, conspiracy theories that we are confronted with.

    “We start to fear anyone who’s not like us. That’s not a healthy place. So I want young people in particular to think about that jolt of fear when they’re confronted with it, to be able to distinguish between the fear that’s going to keep them safe, and the fear that’s going to keep them stuck in a small world.”

    ‘Did we make a dent?’

    She added that more and more people “feel like they don’t matter on this planet”, and that it “still hurts” that Donald Trump took over from Barack Obama.

    “That’s that point in time when you have to ask yourself, was it worth it?” she said.

    “Did we make a dent? Did it matter? And when I’m in my darkest moment, my most irrational place, I could say, well, maybe not. Maybe we weren’t good enough.

    “But then I look around, and when there is more clarity, when I’m able to unpack those feelings and think more rationally, I think, well, my gosh, there’s a whole world of young people who are thinking differently about themselves because of the work that we’ve done.

    “Did everything get fixed in the eight years that we were there? Absolutely not. That’s not how change happens. But we laid a marker in the sand. We pushed the wheel forward a bit. But progress isn’t about a steady climb upward. There are ups and downs and stagnation. That’s the nature of change.

    “And that’s why the work that we’re doing today is about empowering the next generation.”

    The couple now run the Obama Foundation, whose mission is to “inspire, empower and connect people to change their world”.

     

  • Michelle Obama shares personal stories of coping in new book

    Michelle Obama said she struggled with a “crushing sense of hopelessness” after the 2020 presidential election that was brought on by the death and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a summer of political and racial unrest and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

    “I was in a low place,” she said. Then she got an idea.

    “Everyone was searching for some answers of how to cope. And for some reason they were asking me, ‘What do you do?’ I had to start thinking about that,” the former first lady told People magazine in an interview pegged to Tuesday’s release of her second book, “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.” She is set to open a six-city book tour in Washington on that day.

    In the book, former President Barack Obama’s wife, who is one of the world’s most famous women, tells how she steadies herself during these anxious times and how she works at overcoming her lifelong fear of change and doubts about herself.

    “Over the 58 years that I’ve lived, I can look back and I can say, ‘This is how I deal with fear. These are the things I say to myself when I need to pick myself up. This is how I stay visible in a world that doesn’t necessarily see a tall Black woman,’” she said. “This is how I stay armored up when I’m attacked. The book is that offering.”

    “I think people learn not through edict, but through stories,” she said. People posted a report on the interview on its website on Thursday, and it will appear in the magazine’s Nov. 21 issue, available nationwide on Friday.

    Mrs. Obama, the mother of Sasha and Malia Obama, opens up in the book about everything from how awkward it is to make new friends to her experiences with racism, marriage, parenting and even menopause.

    She also writes about leaning on a “kitchen table” of close girlfriends, led by her 85-year-old mother, Marian Robinson. The group includes Kathleen Buhle, a hiking and yoga pal who is the ex-wife of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and the mother of Maisy Biden, Sasha Obama’s best friend.

    In 2018, Mrs. Obama released her best-selling memoir, “Becoming,” and embarked on a U.S. and international book tour to promote it. The book has sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, surpassing the sales of any memoir by a previous first lady or modern president, including her husband.

    In her new book, the former first lady describes looking in the mirror and only seeing her flaws, and how she practices being kind to herself.

    She said she also copes by indulging in what her husband calls “lowbrow TV.”

    “You name it, I watch it,” she said, naming HGTV, anything on the Food Channel and dating shows like “Married at First Sight” among her viewing choices.

    The former first lady described herself as an informed citizen who reads the newspaper, gets briefs, sits with her husband every night and knows what’s happening in the world.

    But she said that “when I’m by myself, I need to be able to turn my head off and think about wallpaper.”

    Source: AP news.com 

  • ‘The First Lady’ canceled after 1 season at Showtime

    Showtime is not moving ahead with a second season of the anthology series, EW has confirmed. The drama chronicled the lives of the infamous former first ladies Michelle Obama (played by Viola Davis), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson). Created by Aaron Cooley, the series also featured Kiefer Sutherland, O-T Fagbenle, Aaron Eckhart, Dakota Fanning, and more.

    “Showtime can confirm that the anthology series The First Lady will not be moving forward with another season,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement to EW. “We would like to applaud the artistry and commitment of our showrunner Cathy Schulman, director Susanne Bier, their fellow executive producers, our amazing cast, led by executive producer Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson, and our studio partner Lionsgate for their dedicated work in telling the unique stories of three remarkable leaders.”

    Schulman and Bier had previously said during a TCA panel that they were exploring ideas for future seasons that could center on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Hillary Clinton, Melania Trump, Dolly Madison, Edith Wilson, Martha Washington, or Rosalynn Carter. At the time, Anderson said, “I think the hope is that there’s going to be future seasons so they’ll have the opportunity to have more First Ladies represented. So maybe not just four but maybe 104.”

    News of the series’ cancelation comes after tepid reviews from critics, with EW’s own Kristen Baldwin calling the show “a woeful waste of three wonderful actresses.” The First Lady wrapped up its 10-episode run in June.

    Source:ew.com

  • Michelle Obama describes family’s daily routine during self-quarantine

    Netflix, conference calls and online college classes are part of the Obama family’s day-to-day life during their coronavirus self-quarantine, Michelle Obama told Ellen DeGeneres in a televised phone call posted on Twitter.

    With their daughters Malia and Sasha home from college, the family is trying to establish a routine, the former first lady said.

    “We’re just trying to structure our days,” she said. “Everyone’s here — the girls are back since colleges are online, so they’re off in their respective rooms doing their online classes.

    “I think Barack is — I don’t know where he is. He was on the phone on a conference call; I just got finished with a conference call. … We’re just trying to keep a routine going, but we’ve also got a little Netflix and chilling happening.”

    Michelle Obama has advice for Americans stuck indoors to help stem the spread of coronavirus.

    Obama told DeGeneres some good may come out of the coronavirus crisis, at least on a personal level.

    “But on the positive side, I know for us, it’s forced us to continue to sit down with each other, have real conversations, really ask questions and figure out how to keep ourselves occupied without just TV or computers,” she said. “It’s a good exercise in reminding us that we just don’t need a lot of the stuff that we have.”

    Source: edition.cnn.com