Do You See?
I think about daughters a great deal, about what it takes to raise a young woman in this world where there are so many dangers, so many obstacles. I think about what it takes to raise a young woman in the world so she doesn’t live a lesser life by focusing too much on these dangers or obstacles but still has some awareness of them. How on earth do we do this? Frankly, how do we raise any child?
Then I think about what it means to raise a black child and sometimes, it stops me cold. Or it did.
And then there’s Michelle Obama.
I see a woman like Michelle Obama who is a role model not only for me but for young girls everywhere. Parents can point to her and say, “See what’s possible? Do you see?”
Her speech at the DNC was one of the finest oratory moments I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t even watch it live. I was messing around and then I noticed people on Twitter having some kind of… spiritual experience, like they were attending a revival, so I found the speech and read it and then watched it online and really, Michelle Obama gave us an exemplary moment in our history. There’s really nothing else that needs to be said. She brought it and served it and brought it some more. She found a way to be a woman, a professional, a First Lady, a mother, and a wife all at once.
I’m ready to have kids now.
