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Women's Studies Times
Interview Article on the Obama Family
In recognition of the historic Inauguration of President Barack Obama, graduate instructor Sherrema Bower interviewed Renee Thomas, Director of the Purdue University Black Cultural Center and Dr. Venetria Patton, Director of African American Studies. The question directed to both Directors included the following:
- How do you view the election of Barack Obama?
- How do you think President Obama might help change domestic policies?
- What do you think having an African-American first family might mean to African Americans and race relations in the U.S.?
- How do you view Michelle Obama as First Lady?
Both Thomas and Patton agreed that this was a watershed moment and an indication of 
progress in the racial dynamics of this country. Thomas said that in light of our global society and the war in Iraq, she also looks forward to seeing how our relations with other countries will change or improve with President Obama’s tenure in the White House.
Dr. Patton admitted being a bit skeptical at the beginning of the campaign as to whether the country was ready for an African American President. However, as the presidential race unfolded, Patton was pleased to see Obama’s diverse group of supporters including the young, the old, whites, and people of various ethnicities, come together in their support. “I saw that he was able to tap into things that were very important to us as Americans,” Patton said, “regardless of our various identities.”
Thomas and Patton each hope that as President, Mr. Obama will effect change in our national healthcare and education systems, respectively, due to the lack of equality at present in both. They agreed that having an African American family in the White House flew in the face of harmful stereotypes about the Black Family as being, in Patton’s words, “pathological, criminal, having only single-parent homes,” etc. Thomas said that the Obamas have made the concept of the nuclear family more of a reality in the African American community while Patton also said that because Michelle Obama planned to have her mother live with them in the White House, this “taps into something prevalent in the African American community in terms of family networks, drawing on family members to help with childcare."
In terms of how Michelle Obama has called herself “Mom-in-Chief,” making it clear that her children would come first, that there would be no nanny, and that she planned to create a life as close to normal for her daughters as possible, Thomas said that Mrs. Obama has become a role model. When telling her own daughter to make her bed, she said smiling, she can point to the First Daughters, Sasha and Malia, and say that although living in the White House even they have to make their own beds.
Thomas and Patton both appreciated that Michelle Obama is a career woman and a mother. 
“There’s an ebb and flow to one’s career,” Patton said, “and sometimes you make certain kinds of changes that make sense when encountering a major adjustment in the family. This is a major move and adjustment for the family and is something that women and even men do quite often when there’s a big change.” Although admitting that Michelle Obama might not go back to her career in near future, Patton said, “I would imagine that this is not the end of her work career; this is just a moment where she’s just focusing on her children.”
Both Thomas and Patton, both women, hold out much hope for the future. Although they agreed that as a country the United States is far from post-race, they spoke of the new opportunities that the Obama administration promises.
| The African American Studies Program, in collaboration with Comparative Literature, plans to offer CompLit 230 in Maymester 2009 called “Barack Obama: A Golden Bow to the Jeremiad.” In this class, students will look at such texts as Oedipus the King, Invisible Man, and Juneteenth, along with Obama’s speeches and the subsequent media responses. |