This tastes glurgy and artificial to me. None of the black women I know have made note of her being dark skinned at all. This seems to be one of those articles that people email around trying to play on some kind of idea that the black community is divided; light skinned / dark skinned.
In my own experience, it really isn’t. I only speak for myself, of course.
Seated, I’m white as day, and it’s apparent that it is an issue.
Some anecdotal accounts:
http://community.essence.com/profiles/blogs/jiggaboos-and-wannabeslight
Is it a big deal? I don’t think so. But I’ve heard multiple women mention it enough for it to be some deal.
I think it stems from the fact that Obama, while self-identified as black, is also “other” for lots of reasons. Michelle’s brown skin and her southside Chicago background make her undeniably black and many find that appealing. I admit I find it refreshing as well, because frankly I’m tired of the “They aren’t really black” discussion. If she were light-skinned, that’s all we’d be hearing about her.
I find it depressing that people vote for a leader because of the looks of the spouse. :smack:
When did policies stop mattering?
Where is this coming from? Who said they voted for Obama because of Michelle’s looks?
I haven’t heard anyone talking about her skin tone, but like monstro, I have heard people who like the fact that Obama is undeniably connected to the black American community. Wait, I did hear Whoopi Goldberg say it was nice to have another dark skinned black woman in the spotlight for something positive.
The light/dark divide does exist in my experience, but I don’t think it’s as big a deal as many people think it is. Of course there are some hold outs on both sides who are determined to make it a big deal though.
What is apparant to white people about the problems in the black community doesn’t hold a molecule of water with me. Likewise for the information from ‘black’ sources in the media. The real deal about the black community is in the black community.
I don’t speak for everyone, only for my own family, friends, associates, cultural experiences. In my circle, it is still common to hear someone say in anger, “I can’t stand your black ugly self!” I always attempt to correct anyone I hear talking like that. However! I understand the language more than an outsider hearing it on the sidelines. I know that the speaker probably is head over heals in love with the jet black skin of her dark skinned man.
I know a lot of people have trouble accepting that my experiences are real and true, but they have to accept it. Light skinned / dark skinned issues are not an issue in the way that I see it portrayed as one in the media.
I have gone on and on about this on this board before, but I am ready to say it all over again. I have not heard a single black woman, from my homies in the ghettos, to my career minded co-workers, to my highly educated friends and family, express joy at the fact that Obama is with a dark skinned woman. We know tons of successful, handsome black men with darkskinned women. Life is not an MTV video.
ETA: Omega, I have noticed that this ‘liking the fact that Michelle is undenibaly connected to the black community’ crap is always something I hear in a magazine or on tv or something too. In the hood, we *already know *that Obama is undeniably connected to the black community! We can take one look at him and recognize him as a ‘brother’. I think it is not the black community that is having trouble accepting this.
I don’t understand that ‘undeniably black’ part. Call me uninformed but I wasn’t aware that you could deny someone being black? Is there like a checklist or something? Do they have to pass some test? Are black people from Denver less black than someone from Oakland? 
What about the way it is portrayed in historical monographs?
I’ve done a significant amount of study of black American culture at the doctoral level, and it’s quite apparent that the question of dark vs. light has been quite significant. It has had different impacts at different times, and of course it plays out differently in different situations, but there is no denying the importance of the issue.
Unfortunately, over the years, lighter skin (and straighter hair and more “Caucasian” features) have been considered to have higher status than the opposites. Therefore, men who have sought power and influence have often married lighter-skinned women. These may not have been conscious choices, but the results were the same.
So regardless of any media portrayals or anybody’s individual experience, I think it’s quite likely that there are a hell of a lot of black women out there who have enjoyed a little smile at the fact that our first black First Lady isn’t a “high yellow” type. Hell, I’m not even black and I enjoyed a little smile about it!
Is she actually dark-skinned? I’d call her complexion more medium. I’m a white guy, and I unfortunately don’t encounter many black people in the community I live in now, so maybe my perceptions are off . . .
“Undeniably black” means few people will argue when that person is called black.
Obama calls himself black but there are plenty who argue against that label for him because of his parentage and/or light skin or whatever.
Do some searches on this board. There have been multiple threads that touch on the “Is Obama really black?” theme.
I guess I was actually wondering about that in regards to people who are ‘full black’, for lack of better terms. I can see the arguments coming up in regards to Obama, given his parentage but Michelle comes from (as far as I know) a black family going back a while. Is there really issue with a person who is, by their family history, black being called ‘not really black’? Hope I worded myself better this time.
Now that the whole can-America-elect-a-black-man, Bradley-Effect storyline is dead, this may be where the pop culture news media goes with the Obamas, because they’re not going to get over their fascination with their skin tone any time soon. This is going to get very annoying.
And to answer the OP, I think Obama earned some points from black women for stepping outside the “light is right” box. It’s not a huge deal, and I don’t think Obama would have lost their vote if Michelle wasn’t dark brown. But I do think many black women appreciate that someone as successful as Obama is with someone who looks a lot of like them.
Shouldn’t they supply us with color strips so we can make sure our judgments are correct. I would like to flip through the strips when I meet people so I do not make an error.
I’ve heard people say Condi Rice and Colin Powell aren’t “really black”, even though neither have white parents. So yes, it happens, but usually only when someone is well known.
If Condi Rice was just your average office worker, I doubt anyone would care enough to argue about her racial affiliation.
You can think it’s likely that it happens, but I am gonna have to think that it happens a lot less than you think. The darkskinned black women I know are not sitting around waiting for validation from Barack and Michelle. Sorry. They just aren’t. They are celebrated for their black beauty right in their own community by their own men.
I know that folks have gone out and educated themselves on the ‘black experience’. I know they have. I respect that. But the truth is, it is a complex thing, and you can’t really grasp the understanding in a classroom.
We realize we have had issues with light skinned / dark skinned, nappy hair / ‘good hair’, etc. We know those issues from the inside, and I find it strange and interesting how many people are really turned on by the idea that black folks are a bunch of self hating, divided self-loathers, but nope. We have come a long way, it is starting in the trenches of ghetto culture and eventually the winding it’s way up to the consciousness of those that stand on the outside and try to judge us. Soon all the propaganda and sensationalistic media in the world won’t be able to convince the black youth that they are born from a self hating community of idiots that would judge a black man on the skin tone of the woman he marries. Dumb.
I guess what I don’t understand is what makes them ‘not really black’. Is it because
they’re highly successful? Because they don’t talk like a stereotypical black person? I know how horribly racist those comments sound but I really don’t know why they would be considered ‘not black’ outside of the more obvious aspects of their lives.
Angel, you hit it on the nose. Highly Successful. I have started threads on this topic before. Highly successful = not really black in lots of folks minds. I mean, come on, Condi?? I can’t even believe anyone would even try it with her. But they do.
Thing is, this stuff comes from t.v., magazines, and other sensationalistic nonsense. And some weird need for some non-blacks to need to believe that blacks are a self hating people. I think some folks feel more secure with themselves if they can point to a group as a bunch of insecure people that are a mess and say, “Wow. They really got a lot of issues.”
Yep. We do. But nothing that you will ever understand by watching Oprah.
I don’t either.
I think you’re making this out to more than it is.
If Obama–a handsome, charismatic megasuperstar in the world of politics --was married and clearly in love with an overweight woman, would it be unreasonable to expect overweight woman to cheer over that at least a little bit? I’d imagine someone might write an op ed about it or two. Because it breaks with convention. Maybe not in the real world of Joe Schmoes, but in the celebrity realm, yes.
Many black women who don’t fit the Halle Berry-Alicia Keys mold feel invisible and left out. So of course they’re going to be happy when someone like them becomes First Lady. It doesn’t take black women being a bunch of self-hating losers to feel this way. That’s preposterous.