In a recent People Magazine interview conducted on December tenth, The First family opened up about their experiences with race in America. ” ‘There’s no black male my age, who’s a professional, who hasn’t come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn’t hand them their car keys,’ said the president, adding that, yes, it had happened to him.”
Michelle Obama corroborated this quote, saying she has witnessed people at black tie gala’s ask her husband, the “leader of the free world”, for coffee, mistaking him for a waiter. This article comes at a poignant time as the country has been confronted with issues of race and oppression based on recent altercations with police officers in many American cities.
President Barack Obama does note that things have gotten better over the years, but hints that there is much progress yet to be made. He made reference to his hypothetical son wearing clothes “the way teenagers dress,” in a comment about how black teenagers are often stereotyped and threatened by their skin color. He made a similar reference after the much publicized killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012, when he said if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin.
The Obama’s also discussed the difficulties of raising children,in the White House. Malia and Sasha Obama are the daughters of Barack and Michelle Obama.