Michelle Obama Says Blacks ‘Exist As a Threat’ to White People

*Michelle Obama opened up about her experiences with racism as First Lady during the latest episode of “The Michelle Obama Podcast.”

While chatting with friends Denielle Pemberton-Heard, Dr. Sharon Malone, and Kelly Dibble, Obama recalled an incident at a Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop with her daughter Sasha and Malia. 

“We had just finished taking the girls to a soccer game,” Obama said. “We were stopping to get ice cream, and I had told the Secret Service to stand back because we were trying to be normal, trying to go in.”

“There was a line, and once again, when I’m just a Black woman, I notice that white people don’t even see me. They’re not even looking at me. So I’m standing there with two little Black girls, another Black female adult, they’re in soccer uniforms, and a white woman cuts right in front of us to order. Like she didn’t even see us,” she continued, Complex reports. 

READ MORE: A Different Michelle Obama Warns America with ‘Cold Hard Truth’ At DNC / WATCH

 

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For so many of us, our friendships have been absolutely critical in helping us get through our toughest days and celebrate our highest highs. And this week on the #MichelleObamaPodcast, I’m talking to a few of my girlfriends: Sharon Malone, Denielle Pemberton-Heard, and Kelly Dibble. Our conversation is a pretty good window into what I love about these ladies. We can reminisce, laugh at each other’s stories, and most of all, we can talk about what’s going on in the world or in our own lives. And with everything that’s been going on over these past few months, it’s been especially crucial for us as women of color to have friends to lean on—a group we can sort through it all together. But to me, this episode isn’t just about my friendships. It’s about yours. It’s about the old friend from school who’s been a confidante for every crucial moment of your life. It’s about the girls who cheered you on during the good times or gave you a shoulder to lean on when times were tough. It’s about the people who know you and support you like no one else. I hope that after listening to this episode, you’ll reach out to them and let them know how much they mean to you. Click the link in my bio to hear this week’s episode with my girlfriends.

A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Aug 26, 2020 at 12:07pm PDT

Obama went to say,  “So I stepped up, and I said, ‘Excuse me?’ I was like, ‘You don’t see us four people standing right here, you just jumped in line?’” she added. “She didn’t apologize, she never looked me in my eye, she didn’t know it was me. All she saw was a Black person, or a group of Black people, or maybe she didn’t even see that because we were that invisible.”

“I can tell you a number of stories like that when I’ve been completely incognito, during the eight years in the White House, walking the dogs on the canal, people will come up and pet my dogs but will not look me in the eye. They don’t know it’s me.”

Obama continued, “What white folks don’t understand, it’s like that is so telling of how white America views people who are not like them,” she said. “You know, we don’t exist. And when we do exist, we exist as a threat. And that, that’s exhausting.”

She also noted the importance of having close Black friends. “My girlfriend group, while it is diverse, it has been so important for me to have Black women in my crew.”

“There’s a certain relief that comes when you don’t have to walk into your friend group and explain yourself,” she said. “My group of female friends aren’t calling me to say, ‘What can I do?’ You guys are calling me to say, ‘How you doin’ girl?’ You know, ‘let’s talk.’”

You can listen to the episode below, or click here.