Women Helping Women: Michelle Obama Mentors Girls
November 3, 2009
by Contributor
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Previously, The New Agenda honored former First Lady Laura Bush in our Women Helping Women series.
Although I’m sure we all agree that a woman President could make an enormous contribution to the future of women and girls, until that day, we can be excited about and encourage the efforts of our First Ladies. First Ladies have a tradition of taking on important projects, from Eleanor Roosevelt’s work as Chair of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, to Laura Bush’s work with The Ambassadors’ Girls’ Scholarship Program. While these efforts often go overlooked by the media in favor of fashion and White House decorating reports, we at The New Agenda are proud of the very real contributions our First Ladies make. I am pleased to report that our new First Lady is putting her own mark on Women Helping Women from the White House.
This week, our newest First Lady Michelle Obama launched a new mentoring program that gives twenty young girls, in the tenth and eleventh grade, access to female White House senior staff. Among the staff participating in the program are Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor the President; Melody Barnes, the President’s Domestic Policy Advisor; Desiree Rogers, White House Social Secretary; and Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Mrs. Obama’s goal is to have twenty mentors for twenty students. The activities will include financial literacy training and exposure to different career paths, as well as field trips with the first lady.
Comments from Mrs. Obama to the students at a gathering in the State Dining Room included,
“
We have some expectations from you as well, that when you get to this position in your life that you do the same thing for somebody else. And if we keep building in that way, holding one another up, there’s no telling what we can do. In every part of government, there are women who are hungry to help bring you guys up, I always wanted to be a bridge between kids like me and the possibilities that can propel them to greatness.”
Brava Michelle Obama! With women like these First Ladies helping women, we are well on our way to our first woman President. Maybe Mrs. Obama is mentoring one now!
(sigh) Aah, yes, the tyranny of low expectations. We women are too happy with the crumbs…
Sorry, but I expect more than this from these women…
Well as long as they don’t get in the way of her husband that is! (Palmer, Clinton, Palin)
Thanks for writing this. I think people often overlook the activities of both Vice Presidents and First Ladies. As Dick Cheney showed us in a negative way, these roles are not set in stone and can be improved upon. I really like Michelle Obama and I think a lot of people are too hard on her. She is in a very difficult position, as her husband is. As she said, there is a lot of pressure being the first of anything.
Michelle Obama represents the worst in womanhood. She married a man with highly questionable values. She gets disbarred and the records are sealed thus she had her law degree for only 2 years before something very nasty happened. She attends the most racist most sexist most marxist church for 20 years indoctrinating her children as well as herself, and then she stands by as her husband runs the most sexist most racist campaign in the history of the USA.
Since stealing the election, the Obamas have overspent the Bushes 10 times over including Michelle’s record 22 staff (compared to Laura’s 11) and her garden died with nary a thought given (but I did think it was funny that she blamed it on the Clintons even though they had been long gone 8 years by then). The Obama’s ‘date night’ in New York cost over $70,000.00 and they rented a ‘cabin’ for the summer for $50,000.00 per month in light of the fact that they admonish us–the general population–for living large. Michelle has not said word one about the fine job Hillary Clinton is doing, and she is dead quiet on the issue of the gang rape that happened last week.
The best thing about Michelle Obama is that 10 months of her presence in Washington is over, and we are 3 years and 2 months away from kicking her and her ridiculous husband out of our lives.
I don’t think Michelle Obama represents the worst in womanhood. Of course it’s a bit ironic that Michelle is the woman who early on during the election stated that Hillary wasn’t qualified to be President because of Bill’s affairs! And now she’s trying to mentor young woman on how to succeed. Perhaps she should tell these young women the same thing – they can aspire to lead as long as their husbands don’t cheat?
Still, I am very happy for this program and I also have a lot of empathy for the many challenges that Michelle Obama has to deal with in her position as First Lady – both as a woman and as an African American.
So I will agree here, Brava Michelle! Perhaps she will help make a big impact on the future of these girls.
jenniferintexas
Hear, hear!
Alison,
Really. Well, I think going to Trinity Church with your girl children is child abuse and I think supporting your husband trash unfairly the single most successful woman in America (and powerful) are proof positive that Michelle Obama is NOT a role model that feminists should aspire to support. Furthermore, since taking office the only thing she has done is spend money–lots of money. Nope, this woman (oh, and don’t forget that she was disbarred 2 years after getting her law degree) is simply the worst, she and her husband are the antithesis of Martin Luther King’s dream and as such they are an American Nightmare.
Hillary Clinton was mentoring girls right out of law school when even though she graduated FIRST in her class and order of the coif she went to work for the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington for no money, no glory, but lots of good energy helping young girls and babies. Michelle’s pitiful attempt at being a ‘role model’ makes me sick.
JenniferinTexas,
I hear you. I am in no way enamored by our first lady. But I’m just going to “hope” that the girls who are engaged in this program will get something meaningful out of it. They probably are not aware of all the details of the election and all the crap that Michelle pulled. But being in the White House to engage in a mentorship program – that in itself could inspire.
Jeniffer and Alison,
glad we have a discussion on who helps girls.
I think a lot of us are aware of the hateful sermons at Trinity, the political use of sexism, our president’s contingent of women hating youth in his base.
And it appears that Michelle had turned a blind eye on it during the election.
But I cannot imagine that a bright woman who stood her own in her carrier, would not recognize how diminishing her current role is. if she would not believe that sisterhood is powerful and necessary for women to achieve, she would not invite a group of girls and have them mentored by female staff. I bet she is aware about the boy’s club, the frat house atmosphere and hardly content with it.
my general view is, that most people are not good or bad but do what they do in a complex set of circumstances.
who qualifies for 100% bad to me is hitler, stalin , the guys who raped for 2 1/2 hour this teenage girl in Richmond and elsewhere.
Marille, I absolutely agree with you. I think feminists really need to be very compassionate to other women. It is a very complex group of circumstances that any one women endures when they are dealing with misogyny all around them. And as an African American woman, Michelle also deals with racism. I am not happy with how she treated Hillary during the election but… still… Yes, there is much worse and I do have empathy for the Stepford Wife role Michelle seems to have been shoved into. I was happy that she took on this new role as a mentor since it is a more empowering role and will surely inspire girls.
JenniferinTexas,
There is no evidence that Michelle Obama was disbarred. This a yet another right wing rumor–remember the “Whitey Tape” are you still waiting for that to be released? Many lawyers go on inactive status for a number of different reasons. It does not mean one is disbarred.
It’s great that she’s mentoring young girls, but if we asked politely, do you think she could stay off of Food Network? It’s been one of the few “Obama-free” zones on TV. The Iron Chefs cooking from her White House vegetable garden? I hate to block another channel. I’m going to miss the Barefoot Contessa, but bye-bye, Ina. So long, Alton. Ciao, Giada.
Hi Samanthasmom, too bad that one of your favorite cooks is not on. but i think the white house chefs won’t be there forever.
Brian
It is not a right wing talking point. She was disciplined as an attorney. It is a serious thing, attorneys don’t just get disciplined for doing nothing.
If it were HRC who had bene “disciplined,” it would have been used as evidence that she was the anti-Christ. And heaven forBID if it had been Sarah Palin.
Do you have any evidence that Michelle Obama was disbarred? That is a very serious charge and I have not seen any proof that is accurate. My understanding is that, like many lawyers, she took a job that did not require the practice of law and she did not keep her license in active status. That is not unusual in the legal field and everything I have seen suggests that the rumors of her being disbarred or disciplined are all based on the fact that she was in inactive status. If there is evidence of her being disbarred why is no one able to point to it?
Brian, the ARDC – Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois has it on record that Michelle Obama is on court ordered inactive status. Do they do that for non-payment of license renewal fees? I’m not being snarky this time. I really don’t know. If I don’t keep my teachers’ certification current, the state cancels it, but it’s not “disciplinary”.
Alison and Marille,
Being a feminist should NOT mean that you have to support all women, just GOOD women doing positive things. As such, using Michelle Obama’s life work up to date as data to support a good vs. bad judgment, it is clear that she has done NOTHING that is helpful to women. NOT a DARN THING!!
And please don’t forget that she is the one who blamed the Clinton’s for killing her garden–the garden she did no work in and which died as soon as the photo op was over.
Michelle Obama is many things, but feminist role model she is not. And Brian, you can call it whatever you want but Michelle Obama cannot practice law according the the Illinois ARDC because she violated the rules and procedures and standards for all attorneys. Disbarred, kicked out, call it whatever you want but the woman lost her license not by choice but by force.
I’d say that being a woman means that you DO have to support all women — but you don’t have to like them.
Along the lines of the argument that I’ve made many, many, many, many times … if Michelle Obama ran for office against a man, I’d vote for her. PERIOD. I’ve had this talk a million times, I’m not having it again.
But I don’t have to like her.
We have to get over this ridiculous notion that VOTING for someone or SUPPORTING them against sexism is the same as telling them out secret boyfriend wishes, doing each other’s hair and nails, and trading best-friends necklace charms. I don’t have to like the bitch, I just have to vote for her.
This is the same thing. If she runs for office, I support her campaign. But I don’t have to LIKE her.
Again, not arguing it yet one more time. I’ve left enoguh comments and even a few posts here on this topic that I am not repeating myself ad nauseum.
jenifferintexas, have to agree with a lot what you said. don’t see Michelle as feminist role model, she probably does not see herself as such. supporting can mean a lot of things. I want to recognize any minute step into respecting girls and women. we are so critical of female politicians and whatever they do wrong is held over there head forever. not the same scrutiny is applied to male politicians. i don’t think I need to give examples here.
so for achieving representation, power for women we need to applaud all the small beginnings. Michelle could have decided to mentor minority kids only lets say 83% minority boys and 17% minority girls. but she decided to invite girls majority and minority. for that we applaud.
Janis, many of your comments sound to me so spot on, just like the last one. sometimes they are cynical and believe me I can understand a lot of it. i got a while ago a very good advice I want to share. When I got very passionate about violence against women, I got the reminder, that we need to watch that our anger does not consume us, but that we rather follow the picture of the burning thornbush, the burning thorn bush borning forever without being consumed.
If you like we can have an ongoing discussion on my facebook page on how to stop sexual violence forever, just like lynching was stopped about 100 years ago.
I don’t get that Janis…not in the least. Lots of women were Nazis, and lots of women should not be supported. I think there is a disconnect in your reasoning that I cannot pinpoint.
Not only do I not get your ’support all women no matter what’ mantra, I also do not understand your vote for all women no matter what position. This makes even less sense because a vote is a vote of confidence and you should LIKE someone you give that vote to. Why would a feminist position be voting for, for example, a woman who does not support feminist beliefs?
Feminist theory is about women and their position and their issues and as such it is the story of women. At no point in my life, and I have known quite a few women many who were feminists have I ever heard of such a position. I think that it makes you a weak person (for example, a democrat who would vote for Obama just because he claims to be a democrat) and as such I think it is a decidedly unfeminist position. Women must make choices if we want to make changes for women worldwide, and supporting all women is an easy, uncritical and useless position that will in no way change our current position. I challenge you to make the hard choices to support people who support women and women’s issues whether they are women or not, and embrace MLK’s dream of a world where we are judged on merit and not accident of birth.
The official form listing MO’s license being taken away is (was during the election, anyway) viewable on the Illinois website. It didn’t just say “inactive”, it also said “court ordered”. Never sounded voluntary or benign to me….
First of all I question anything that has Valarie Jerrett counsling young girls. This woman along with the rest of the Obama’s low life friends were low life scum bag slum lord. She doesn’t give a damn about women because I can assure you that she had a female head of household living in her slum apartments.
I do not like Michelle Obama nor would I ever support her if she ran for office. I wish she would just stick to telling young ghetto girls her story.
jennifer in texas, what is your take on the pro choicers voting for a healthcare bill with the stupak amendment.
still think you can belief their agenda they tout before elections?
people like DeGetta giving all the reasons and being mad about the stupak amendment an then voting for the bill.
maybe we should make a list for what woman we could not vote and then analyze the reasons.
Marille,
ALL of them should be fired. permanently. no second chances.
And for the record I do not support anyone in Washington unless they have from day ONE spoken out for Hillary Rodham Clinton and what the DNC did to her and the over 18 million Americans who voted for her, who speak out LOUDLY against the Obama Administration and work to do good for Americans–women and men. RIght now there are very few people in Washington I can support.
However, I will be voting straight ticket Republican until Obama and anyone supporting him is out of office. PROUDLY. It felt great to pull the lever in Texas last year ba-da-bing not gonna get my vote you lying sack of human filth (this title fits the DNC as a whole and each person supporting the atrocity of last year).
And then I will be voting Independent and hopefully women. I would love to make a list with you of women and men we should vote for and what the litmus test is–for me starting last year it was the one mentioned above but I am sure that will have to be tweaked.
@Hillarysmygirl16
wow!!! ghetto girls. I’m actually not surprised by you saying this. Many so called feminists are not feminist but “white feminists” they only support white women. While you and your those like you like Hillary and Sarah there are a lot of little girls out there whom you ignore that admire Michelle.
Michellefan,
This is one of the wonderful things about the internet, I as a “white feminist” am the one who wrote what I thought was an article full of praise for Michelle Obama and her new program. The comment you referred to from Hillarysmygirl16 was not written by a “white feminist.”
The New Agenda is about supporting ALL women. I think if you snoop around here a little you will be pleasantly surprised!
That must be why “white feminists” supported Carol Moseley Braun’s campaign for president, while … um, how many black men voted for her exactly?
*crickets*
Yep.
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