In a new CBS This Morning interview, former First Lady Michelle Obama shared with Gayle King her lingering concerns over the safety of her two daughters, 22-year-old Malia and 19-year-old Sasha, both of whom are currently of age and licensed to drive, in the face of law enforcement.
“They’re driving, but 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—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,” Obama said.
“Like so many parents of Black kids … the innocent act of getting a license puts fear in our hearts,” 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 that we don’t want to be out there marching.”
Obama declared it time for the nation to move past the fear-based othering that lies at the root of racism. “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 marchin’,” she said. “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. 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.”
Read the complete article at: Harper’s Bazaar
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