Wake-up Call for Fashion Industry: Black is Beautiful

Ariel Binns is cute, smart, outgoing 6-year-old model. And she is getting jobs because she looks remarkably like first daughter Sasha Obama. This similarity has not gone unnoticed by the fashion industry. The first-grader and model Tyra Banks were cast by Harper's Bazaar magazine in a photo showing a Black family in the White House. I wonder where they got that idea? In the photo the child model from Brooklyn, New York was peeking out from under a big wooden desk.

Yes, the fashion world is realizing that there is noting like a dynamic first family to boost sales. The fashion market is finally waking up to the fact that Black is beautiful. Branding expert David Rogers predicts Black models will play a more prominent role in fashion photography as a direct result of the Obamas. At Wilhelmina Kids, a modeling agency in New York for kids and teens (which represents Ariel Binns), agents say there is increased demand for first daughter look-alikes.

The public loves the Obama girls and they are definitely marketable. After the first daughters appeared in their J.Crew outfits on Inauguration Day, the company's Web site got so many hits, it crashed.

The most visible and most exciting family in America is a beautiful Black family and the fashion industry is looking for those kinds of images. And to the surprise of the industry a lot of Americans who don’t necessarily look like them want to identify and find some sort of connection with this family.

Of course in everything there is a downside. First Lady Michelle Obama was not happy when toy manufacturer Ty Inc. came out with Black dolls named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia even though the company said the dolls did not look like the Obama girls. Many famous families face similar problems and don’t want their children exposed to the public, because once the child is exposed to the public image, because then they could become owned and could be used in many different and negative ways. It also takes away from the child growing up is a relatively normal way.

And yet the celebrity of Sasha and Malia has a positive effect by presenting a positive and prominent image of young Black girls and Black children in general. And it could take diversity in the fashion industry to a whole new level.

Michelle Obama and Daughters Arrive in Washington, D.C.

Michelle Obama and her two daughters arrived Saturday at their temporary home at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, ahead of President-elect Barack Obama who is expected to make the trip tomorrow. The Obamas moved early so their daughters — 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia — could start classes on Monday at their new school, Sidwell Friends School. Other children of well-known politicians to attend the school include Al Gore III, Chelsea Clinton and Vice President-elect Joe Biden's grandson.

The Obamas are staying at the storied Hay-Adams because Blair House, the government's official guest residence, was booked through January 15. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and has previously housed presidents-elect before taking the oath of office. The Obamas will relocate there on January 15, the normal date for incoming presidents, and stay until the inauguration on January 20.

The scene outside the hotel was quiet Saturday night, except for two news vans hoping to get film of Michelle Obama and her daughters going in and out. But, security will intensify for President-elect Barack Obama's arrival on tomorrow. The district's government is shutting down several streets near the hotel to traffic and there will be no street parking nearby from 1 a.m. Sunday morning until midnight on January 15.

The famous hotel opened in 1928, and sits across Lafayette Square from the White House. Its name comes from two historical figures who lived on the site: John Hay, the private assistant to President Abraham Lincoln and later secretary of state, and Henry Adams, an author and descendant of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. The Hay-Adams has 145 rooms of which 21 are suites, featuring marble bathrooms, intricately carved plaster ceilings and ornamental fireplaces and balconies with views of the White House, Lafayette Square and St. John's Church. Room amenities include custom Italian bed linens and towels, goose down duvets and pillows (hypoallergenic pillows are available; Malia has allergies), plush microfiber bathrobes and slippers for adults and kids, Bose music systems, exclusive Etro toiletries, complimentary Fiji bottled water and a nightly turndown service.

After it opening, the hotel quickly attracted prominent Washingtonians and other elites, including aviators Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, author Sinclair Lewis and actress Ethel Barrymore. Its restaurant is a top destination for "power dining" and is a regular meeting place for White House officials.

How Will Life be for the Obama Daughters in the White House?

They haven't even moved into the White House yet, but Malia and Sasha Obama are the world's most famous tweens. Their parents have often said they want a normal existence for them. But how normal can life be for the first daughters? They're only 10 and 7, and already designers are competing for the chance to dress them. They've been on the cover of People, Us Weekly, Ebony and Jet. And there's that standing invitation to the set of "Hannah Montana."

History suggests that the media will keep their distance. Chelsea Clinton was 13 when she entered the White House and she was largely left alone at the request of her parents. Amy Carter was 9 when she came and was allowed to live a fairly normal life. The Kennedy children were kept from the public eye by their mother. She even set up a school for Caroline at the White House. But technology has advanced to the point where photos and video can be taken by anyone with a cell phone, and uploaded to the Web within minutes. The public is fascinated with all the Obamas, including the girls. But these are kids and there is a tricky line on how public the Obama girls can and should be.

The Obamas are clearly aware there's a fascination with the girls and how they're going to lead their lives. They're going to try to chart a safe course. The girls weren't constant fixtures on the campaign trail, but they were not invisible, either. They occasionally appeared at rallies, spoke onstage to a video image of their father at the Democratic convention, and, along with their parents, gave an interview to "Access Hollywood," a move President-elect Obama later said he regretted. The girls captured many hearts with their poised and joyfulness on the few public appearances they have made, but and I’m positive that there will be far fewer pictures. A couple of exceptions, of course, will be the inauguration and probably a flurry of photos when their puppy arrives.

Once safely in the White House, the girls will be well protected and nurtured. The people surrounding these girls are going to work hard to let them go about their routines. I’m sure they will follow the Clinton pattern. Michelle Obama has talked to Hilary Clinton in great detail about Chelsea’s life during the White House years. Chelsea went to her ballet rehearsals, came home, did homework, and ate dinner with her parents. The White House ushers set up a scavenger hunt for Chelsea when she came, so she could get to know the place. We know the Obama girls like their dance classes, their soccer, and their sleepovers. All these will likely continue. And maybe we can expect President Obama, like candidate Obama, to attend parent-teacher conferences at the private Sidwell Friends School.

The Obama family will be starting with an advantage over the past few years of their lives. They will have dinner together every night. They have just come off the campaign road for the past two years. Now they will see each other seven days a week. Remember they are living in the office. Of course, they'll have to make new friends. At school we can assume that neither Malia nor Sasha will be the odd girl out. They won’t be the picked-on girl. They are going in as the queen bee. They won’t get left out of anything. Every kid in school parents want to be invited to the White House!

Of course, the tricky part comes with teenage years — something Malia, at least, will be experiencing at the end of Obama’s first term. With middle school comes all sorts of issues: rebellion, body issues, mean-girl stuff. But there's plenty of time to think about that. Right now, there are rooms to decorate and lots of people to meet. Michelle says she wants to be mom-in-chief. And Barack Obama says 'I love you' to his children right up there on the stage. You get a sense that there's a lot of love there. I truly believe the Obamas have laid a good foundation.

The Obamas will end their vacation on New Year ’s Day and move to Washington, DC this weekend. Most incoming president come to Washington a few days before the inauguration, but the girls new school, Sidwell Friends School, restarts after the holiday break Monday and President-elect and Michelle want their daughters there from the beginning.

Holiday Greetings from the Obamas

The First Grandma

The future first lady, Michelle Obama, is bringing her mother along when they move into the White House. Marian Robinson has had a major role in the Obama household.

The new “first grandma’s” main job during President-elect Barack Obama's two-year-long campaign for the presidency was to make sure the Obamas' young daughters, Malia and Sasha, were taken care of (upholding family rules - 8:30 p.m. bedtime, healthy food, daily schedules) while mom and dad were on the campaign trail. Barack Obama credited his mother-in-law with helping to make the family survive his transition to national politics.

Fraser and Marian Robinson raised Michelle and her brother Craig on the South Side of Chicago. Fraser died shortly before Barack and Michelle were married.

At the Democratic National Convention this year, Michelle said, "My mother's love has always been the sustaining force for our family. One of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion and her intelligence reflected in my daughters."

Michelle Obama convinced her mother to come to Washington with the family to help keep the kids grounded while in the White House. Grandma will be coming to Washington.

Michelle Obama Visits Washington Private Schools

Michelle Obama, the soon-to-be first lady, visited at least two well-known private schools Monday as she and President-elect Obama prepare to move their two young daughters to the White House in January. She toured Georgetown Day School in the morning and Sidwell Friends School, which Chelsea Clinton attended, in the afternoon. In between, she spent about two hours visiting the residential portion of the White House with first lady Laura Bush while their husbands met privately in the Oval Office. It is not clear whether the Obamas will look at other schools, and their staff provided no details.

Ten-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha now attend a private school in Chicago. Sasha will be the youngest White House resident since the Kennedy administration and Washington is full of speculation about where they will attend school, how much they will appear in public, and other details.

One student at Georgetown Day said she hoped the Obama girls would attend there. "It's really our turn," she said, noting that Sidwell Friends had been the presidential family's choice in the past. Another Georgetown Day student said having the Obama girls as classmates would give him "bragging rights" with his friends. Georgetown Day, founded in 1945, was an early pioneer in integration and prides itself on its diversity. The school's Web site says about 35 percent of its estimated 1,000 students are of color.

About four hours later, Michelle Obama arrived at Sidwell Friends. Students gathered outside the private Quaker school and waited near the door with their cell phones, hoping to take pictures and possibly shake her hand. One 15 year-old student said his older brother was a student at Sidwell Friends when Chelsea Clinton attended. President Bill Clinton would go to PTA meetings and other events, he said.

Another private school, the Maret School, would not comment on whether Michelle Obama planned to visit, citing the school's policy of protecting families' privacy. Reporters and TV crews had camped out at Georgetown Day, Sidwell Friends and the Maret School.

There are some public schools in the District of Columbia that the Obamas could consider, including a few in affluent northwest Washington that have been recognized nationally as Blue Ribbon Schools.

Michelle Obama Wows Audience

In the first major address at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama described herself as a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother, no different from many women. She told a cheering crowd waving signs reading "Michelle" that she and her husband, the possible next president of the United States, feel an obligation to "fight for the world as it should be" to ensure the promise of a better life for their daughters and all children. Michelle Obama declared "I love this country" as she sought to reassure the nation that she and her husband share Americans' bedrock values and belief in a dream of a better future.

She was introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson, the head basketball coach at Oregon State University. Robinson noted that she memorized every episode of "The Brady Bunch" and praised her passion for helping others. Robinson also offered a political analysis of Barack Obama's basketball skills: "He's a team player who improves the people around him, and he won't back down from any challenge."

The speech showed an American family, an appealing American family, an ordinary American family (or as ordinary a family can be in which one member is running for president.) Michelle Obama's job was to show voters they have nothing to fear. “The Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago,” she said. “He’s the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago this summer, inching along at a snail’s pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands.” Some in the audience could be seen crying a bit as she spoke.

She was describing a simple moment, a real moment, an emotional moment and one that made only one point: Senator Barack Obama is a human being just like you. He is not an “other,” he is not a “celebrity.” He is a father, a husband, a person. Michelle went on: “And as I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they’ll have families of their own. And one day, they, and your sons and daughters, will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They’ll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming.”

Michelle Obama didn't explicitly address race, but allaying concerns among white voters was part of the strategy for the first Black nominee of a major party. "Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party, if any, you belong to. That's not how he sees the world," she said. "He knows that thread that connects us — our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future — is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree." She also described her husband's upbringing by a single mother and grandparents who "scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves."

Michelle Obama did hit the campaign’s talking points, carefully praising Hillary Clinton, “who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters, and our sons, can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.“ And also Joe Biden, “who’s never forgotten where he came from, and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.” But she made the speech hers, and she made it a great one.

Afterward, their daughters, Sasha and Malia, joined her on stage as Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" blared from the convention hall. The girls began smiling and waving at their father after his familiar face popped up on a large screen on stage. "How about that Michelle Obama?" Barack Obama said, "You were unbelievable." And then something followed that is virtually unheard of at a political convention: an unscripted moment. In the live video hookup with Barack, who was in Kansas City, the two Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha, who had joined their mother on stage, simply talked to their father. He asked them how they thought their mother had done in her speech. “I think she did good,” Sasha said. “I think so, too,” Malia said. And then Malia said, “We love you, Daddy.” And Sasha said, “We love you, Daddy. Bye.”

In Kansas City, reporters asked him how it felt to watch his wife. During the speech, and a biographical video shown before she spoke, Senator Obama occasionally wiped his eyes. "She was unbelievable. But I'm not surprised. When she does something, she does it well," he said of Michelle. "She told her story. It's a story that a lot of families can relate to. Her dad struggled, worked hard. And here, his daughter, is addressing the nation."

Senator Barack Obama closes the convention Thursday night with his acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.

Michelle Obama in Spotlight at Democratic Party Convention

As delegates poured into Denver, Colorado for four days leading up to the historic moment of Barack Obama's formal nomination August 28, his wife, Michelle Obama, will take center stage tonight at the Democratic National Convention for a prime-time speech introducing herself as a potential first lady. Her solo appearance tonight will be her first address to a broad audience of voters and it's a chance for her to help frame her husband's biography.

The speech will be a family affair. Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, will narrate a video about the next potential first family, and Michelle will be introduced by her brother, Craig, head basketball coach at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

The speech will be peppered with stories about the couple and their two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, but it will mostly be a humanizing portrait of her husband. ``You will have a sense of who she is and what our values are and how we are raising our kids, and I think what you will conclude is `gee, he's sort of like us,''' Senator Obama told voters yesterday in Wisconsin. The address also is a reintroduction for Michelle Obama, 44, who had been the object of criticism for some of her remarks during the primary.

Critics seized on comments she made in February when she said her husband's candidacy made her feel proud of her country ``for the first time in my adult lifetime.'' She later said she had been trying to say how proud she was that so many people were engaging in the political process as a result of her husband's candidacy, and that she had always been proud of her country. Michelle Obama has softened her image by appearing on television programs such as ``The View.'' Going into this week's convention, she is on the covers of Essence and Ebony magazines.

But what if, deep down inside somewhere, Michelle Obama really is angry. What's wrong with a little anger? Black women have a lot of reasons to feel that way, and she, especially, for some of the things that have been said about her and her husband. Maybe this Princeton and Harvard-educated lawyer is angry about Fox News Channel calling her in an on-screen graphic, "Obama's baby mama." (And why are the Reverends Jackson and Sharpton not forming a boycott of the Fox News Channel and their sponsors.) She could be spitting mad about the rumor that there was a video of her railing against "whitey" from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. No video has surfaced; the campaign says that's because she never spoke there.

Her speech will serve two purposes; one is to reintroduce herself to the country and to the world because she has never had a larger audience. Secondly her task is to introduce her husband to the audience in a way in which she knows him and we don't. Tonight she breaks ground as she auditions for the role of the first Black first lady of the U.S.

``There haven't been [many] opportunities for Black women to be revered in a way of being referred to as first lady of a city, a state or as a nation,'' said Wellington Webb, Denver's first Black mayor. Such a step would be ``very significant given our history.''

Too often, the media depict Black women as gyrating hoochie mamas, someone's baby mama or dirty crack addicts. Michelle Obama strikes a pose not seen enough: an accomplished, confident, proud Black woman. That seems to scare some people. It is said that people are most afraid of what they are least familiar with. And most people don't really know Michelle Obama. Like most politicians, and their families, we know only what we read about her or see on TV.

Senator Barack Obama's advisers viewed her as his "secret weapon." In the primaries, she was dubbed "the Closer" for her ability to persuade undecided voters to come on board. Now she's the opener, the first-night star called upon to testify about her husband's vision and values, and perhaps settle some doubts about herself.

"People aren't used to strong women," Michelle Obama said when her image came up as she played guest co-host on "The View." America likes a certain type of first lady, the adoring, smiling, know-your-place-and-stay-in-it kind who stands beside her man. They want career political wives, not career women.

Don't get me wrong; I like soft. Who doesn't? It helps make women who they are, but it's just one side of who women are. And Michelle Obama has shown plenty of "soft" already; go watch the family's much-talked about interview with "Access Hollywood," or read her recent interview with Ebony magazine.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson grew up on the South Side of Chicago in a family of modest means. Fraser Robinson was a local Democratic organizer who worked at a water plant. His wife Marian raised the kids in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of her aunt's house, where Michelle and Craig slept in the living room, converted into two tiny bedrooms and a study area.

She fought her way into Princeton, and later to Harvard Law School, and began dating Barack Obama while working at a Chicago corporate law firm. They've been married for 15 years.

She's proved an adept solo campaigner with blue-collar audiences and with women, able to make a connection with voters whose lives are an economic struggle.

"I wake up every morning, wondering how on the Earth I'm going to pull off that next minor miracle to get through the day," she told a Chicago crowd. She talks about work, workouts, parent-teacher conferences, hair appointments, the burdens of campaign travel, the plugged toilet that her husband left her to deal with one day.

"With the exception of the campaign trail and life in the public eye, I have to say that my life now is really not that much different from many of yours," she said.

By all accounts, she has a great husband — who has made history and could make more if he is elected on Nov. 4 — two charming daughters, a power career as a hospital administrator, a million-dollar home in Chicago's Hyde Park. She's also a role model for little girls everywhere, especially those of color, who have been beaten down by poverty, broken homes, failing schools, low self-esteem and every other obstacle life can put in their way.

Think of those girls (and boys too) and how it could help them to see someone like Michelle Obama, strong, self-assured, devoted to family, triumphant over some of those same issues in her own life and possibly headed to the White House, and think to themselves, "Yes, I can."

Obama Daughters Keep Their Own Hectic Schedules

The Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are determined that his bid not disrupt the normal, happy childhood of their daughters, who would be two of the youngest residents of the White House in 30 years if he wins. Amy Carter was 9 when she moved in the White House in 1977. Malia is 10 and Sasha is seven.

The rules in the Obama household for Malia and Sasha are clear-cut:
"No whining, arguing or annoying teasing," said Michelle Obama. “Make the bed. "Doesn't have to look good, just throw the sheet over it."

“Set your own alarm clock. "They get themselves up, get their own clothes," said their grandmother Marian Robinson.

And the allowance from Dad for doing chores is $1 a week. Barack Obama conceded that "I'm out of town for weeks at a time, so Malia will say, 'Hey you owe me for 10 weeks.'"

Malia and Sasha visited the White House in 2005 and were bored until President Bush's dog Barney showed up and they romped with him on the South Lawn, Michelle said.

While the senator is on the road, the Obama girls keep a hectic schedule: soccer, dance and drama for Malia, gymnastics and tap for Sasha, piano and tennis for both. Michelle Obama tries to fit in three 90-minute workouts each week and hits the campaign trail two or three days a week.

"When some folks were attacking Michelle, Malia just asked, 'What was that all about?' and we talked it through," Barack Obama said, adding that it was fortunate that "she's completely confident about her mommy's wonderfulness."

"They have a wonderful life in Chicago," Senator Obama said. "So I'm sure there's a part of them that won't be heartbroken if things don't work out."

The Obamas rarely allow their daughters to be interviewed. After the television show "Access Hollywood" aired a report on the Obama children earlier this month, their father expressed regret for having agreed to it. "I don't think it's healthy and it's something that we'll be avoiding in the future," he later said.