In a recent interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, former first lady Michelle Obama opened up about her constant fears with her daughters being racially profiled anytime they’re driving alone. The 57-year-old attorney and author shares two daughters with former president Barack Obama.
“Every time they get in a car by themselves, I worry about what assumption is being made by somebody who doesn’t know everything about them,” she said about 22-year-old Malia and 19-year-old Sasha, New York Post reported.
“The fact that they are good students and polite girls, but maybe they’re playing their music a little loud, maybe somebody sees the back of their head and makes an assumption,” she continued. “I, like so many parents of black kids … the innocent act of getting a license puts fear in our hearts.”
“Many of us [blacks] still live in fear as we go to the grocery store, walking our dogs,” she added. “I think we have to talk about it more. And we have to ask our fellow citizens to listen a bit more, and to believe us, and to know we don’t wanna be out there marching.’’
Elsewhere in the interview, the former first lady explained the rationale behind the statement she and her husband released in response to last month’s conviction of Derek Chauvin. The former Minneapolis cop was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in the May 25 death of George Floyd. The African-American father’s death in the hands of the disgraced White ex-cop sparked nationwide protests in what was a year of racial reckoning. Following his conviction, the former first couple said that though the guilty verdict “may have been a necessary step on the road to progress, it was far from a sufficient one.”
“We cannot rest,’’ the Obamas added.
Reflecting on the strong-worded statement, Michelle told Gayle King they released it because “in certain times, people, you know, look to us often,” New York Post reported.
“‘Well, what do you think? How do you feel?’ We know that while we’re all breathing a sigh of relief over the verdict, there’s still work to be done,’’ she added. “And so we can’t sort of say, ‘Great. That happened. Let’s move on.’”
“I know that people in the black community don’t feel that way because many of us still live in fear,” she continued. “I mean, all those Black Lives Matters kids, they’d rather not have to worry about this.”
“They’re taking to the streets because they have to,’’ she said in reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, adding: “They’re trying to have people understand that we’re real folks and the fear that many have of so many of us is irrational. And it’s based on a history that is just, it’s sad, and it’s dark.
“And it’s time for us to move beyond that.”
