I usually save these for Gina. We all know Robin Givhan and Nia-Malika Henderson are her girls 
but I had to comment on both of their recent articles on First Lady Michelle Obama. The entire time I was reading these articles all I kept thinking was, “Wait for it. Wait for it.” But alas no double speak or snide remarks to be said. Both articles were, in my opinion, good solid pieces of work that spoke about the First Lady’s vision in creating the Let’s Move initiative. Henderson’s article even went on to kind of give Mrs Obama the title of the “Urban” First Lady, taking on issues of race that the President won’t or is unable to do.
All I can say is two weeks in a row, well done Ms Givhan and Ms Henderson. What say you Michelle Obama Watchers…
Michelle Obama shares the emotions behind her movement to boost kids’ health
By Robin Givhan
First lady Michelle Obama sits in an upholstered armchair in her East Wing office, a generous bowl of fresh apples on a nearby table. She wears a body-conscious gray sleeveless sheath with an artful corsage of matching fabric decorating the right shoulder. A petite Georgetown student — one of the young ladies from the White House mentoring program Obama established last year — quietly observes as the first lady discusses the role physical fitness played in her Chicago girlhood.
The tableau contains all the elements that have defined Obama’s time in the White House: youth outreach, distinctive style, healthful food and fitness. Of all these, nutrition and physical activity are key to the legacy Obama would like to leave. They’re essential to her national rallying cry to end the crisis of childhood obesity in a generation.
Obama launched her sweeping initiative, Let’s Move, in an early February publicity surge that had her discussing “food deserts” and the urgency of clearer labeling. She lobbied the National Governors Association before its members partied at the White House. She visited schools and at a Philadelphia grocery store pulled out a $20 bill to buy a banana-strawberry smoothie. The statistics she has repeated are both jarring and daunting: One in three children is overweight or obese. The dollars she has proposed the federal government dedicate to the dilemma are significant: at least $10 billion over 10 years.
Most of the attention has focused on the nutrition part of the equation — thanks in large part to her vegetable garden that took on astonishing international significance. Let’s Move aims to make wide-ranging improvements to the eating habits of a food-addled society. Fitness is a less discussed, yet crucial, piece of her initiative. She will unveil the details of a comprehensive fitness agenda in the coming weeks.
“If kids are naturally active, they shouldn’t have to worry about what they eat. That’s how it was when we were growing up. Nobody talked to you about nutrition. You ate your vegetables. You ate what was on your plate. And you went outside and played. There wasn’t a need for structured activity,” she says in an interview in her office. “The physical education piece is about exploring that. In our nation, what happened? What have been the cultural trends that have led us away from that regular exercise and activity that kids used to get?” To read the entire article click here.
Michelle Obama speaks frankly about race
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON
In tackling the problem of childhood obesity, first lady Michelle Obama is doing something that her husband rarely does — talking about an issue bluntly in terms of race and helping urban America.
She is, some say, filling a role that Barack Obama seems less inclined to fill, serving as a kind of bridge from the White House to black America in much the same way that she functioned during the campaign, observers said.
Where President Obama has been reluctant at times to address domestic policy in terms of how it would specifically affect African-Americans or Hispanics, Michelle Obama has approached her signature issue differently, frequently bringing up issues of race, region and inequality.
The first lady provided a vivid example Friday of her approach to childhood obesity, touring the Fresh Grocer in North Philadelphia, a predominantly black neighborhood that had been without a grocery store for more than a decade. The $15 million store opened in December, created 270 jobs and has a 96 percent minority workforce. The store, located near Temple University, is located in Progress Plaza. Aides to the first lady said the goal is to highlight how neighborhoods have addressed the problem of “food deserts,” neighborhoods that lack a full-service grocery store.
“It’s a nuanced conversation about race and place and economic inequality, and at the same time, she is staying within the first lady framework,” said Melissa Gilbert, a professor in the urban studies department at Temple University. “It’s a very smart approach because she is bringing up issues that people haven’t thought about in the popular mainstream society.” To read more click here.
Posted by Aminah Hanan
