#work rss Apple RSS The Irish Times - News @IrishTimesWorldFeed Irish Times World RSS [p?c1=2&c2=8946263&cv=2.0&cj=1] IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M9Q373 * Search * Newsletters * Crossword * Notices * My Account * Sign Out * Subscribe * Sign In [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269159|0|225|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=US ;kvcat=politics;kvorg=Tuskegee+University;cookie=info;] Menu The Irish Times Sun, Jan 17, 2016 ^Sign In Welcome * The Irish Times * News * Sport * Business * Opinion * Life & Style * Culture * More * Video * Podcasts * Executive Jobs * Subscribe * My Account * Sign Out * Sign In * * World * US * Exodus * UK * Europe * Africa * Middle East * Asia-Pacific * Paris Attacks * Migrant Crisis All News * Ireland + Irish News * World + UK + Europe + US + Africa + Middle East + Asia-Pacific * Politics + Election 2016 + Oireachtas + Poll * Crime & Law * Social Affairs + Religion & Beliefs * Health * Education + Student Hub * Courts * Irish Times Data * Environment * Science * Consumer * Offbeat * In Depth * Specials + Year in Review + State Papers 1985 + Floods + Exodus * Podcasts + Inside Politics + World View * Subscriptions + ePaper + Newspaper Archive + Digital Message By using this website, you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Michelle Obama ‘knocked back’ by race issues in 2008 US presidential contest US first lady describes ‘sting of daily slights’ Tue, May 12, 2015, 01:00 US first lady Michelle Obama at Tuskegee University. Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP Photo US first lady Michelle Obama at Tuskegee University. Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP Photo During a commencement speech at Tuskegee University in Alabama, United States first lady Michelle Obama spoke frankly about the role her racial identity played during the 2008 presidential campaign. “As potentially the first African-American first lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations, conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others,” she told the class of 2015 on Saturday. “Was I too loud or too emasculating? Or was I too soft? Too much of a mom and not enough of a career woman?” She referred to her satirical portrayal on a July 2008 cover of the New Yorker magazine as a terrorist. “Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover,” she told the graduates at the historically black college. “It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder: ‘Just how are people seeing me?’” Directing her remarks directly toward her African American audience, Obama spoke from her own experience : “The road ahead is not going to be easy. It never is, especially for folks like you and me.” Mrs Obama then aired a laundry list of slights she said black Americans deal with on a regular basis: “We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives. The folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety, the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores. The people at formal events who assumed we were the help.” “And those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country, and I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day. Those nagging worries about whether you’re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason. ” She stressed those experiences were “not an excuse” to “lose hope”. – Bloomberg * Topics: * Michelle Obama * Tuskegee University Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Crime & Law Gardaí search the Grand Canal bank in Ardclough, Co Kildare, where the body of a man was found in a suitcase on Saturday afternoon. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days * Opinion “The takeaway message from its negative poster this week might be that it has ceded control of the narrative to Fine Gael.” Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Fianna Fáil is changing but not quickly enough * European Cup Leinster’s Sean Cronin celebrates after scoring a try in their clash with Bath in the European Champions Cup. Photo: Billy Stickland/Inpho Fountain of youth comes good for Leinster with fighting victory * Politics Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, flanked by party colleagues, waves to supporters after his ardfheis speech at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times. 5:35 Coalition has not delivered a fair recovery - Martin ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269161|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=US ;kvcat=politics;kvorg=Tuskegee+University;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT Latest World Burkina Faso hotel attack: 18 nationalities among 28 dead 14:44 Bill Cosby sexual assault case could be thrown out 13:25 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 12:06 Jakarta attacks: Death toll rises to eight after Isis assault 11:20 Independence-minded opposition wins Taiwan election 09:18 ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4269160|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=US ;kvcat=politics;kvorg=Tuskegee+University;cookie=info;] Most Read in News 1 Conservative Germany is ‘mad as hell’ over Merkel’s policies 2 Gardaí say remains those of man who died in recent days 3 Isis ‘kills 300 people’ in Deir al-Zor, Syrian government says 4 Irish nanny plans to sue over wrongful detention in US 5 Woman who was asked to leave River Island awarded €7,500 Never miss a story. 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