Michelle Obama can't catch a break. First someone is trying to make money off her daughters (without even giving her a cut) and now we have a controversy about a dress.
Amnau Eele, a former model and co-founder of the Black Artists Association, made the complaint that Mrs. Obama should have been wearing clothes by black designers on Inauguration Day. First of all who is this lady? I tried to Google her and she doesn't even have her own page on Wikipedia. Screech from Saved By The Bell has his own page on Wikipedia. She must have only been modeling in Kazakhstani. Come on lady? Is this how you want to make your debut?
Mrs. Obama wore clothing from a Cuban-American designer and a Taiwan-born designer. Uh oh! The Black Race is being held down by the Taiwanese again. Amnau Eele continued her rant to WWD.com by naming different black designers that could have made wears for Mrs. Obama. In her quest to show Mrs. Obama as not being inclusive, she should have checked before she named dropped. One of the designers B. Michael, made a statement saying that his views differ from Amnau Eele. He basically said that its Mrs. Obama's right to wear what she wants. In other words… "Woman get my name out of your mouth!" I don't know who this B. Michael is but apparently he is a smart man. The Obama's have 4, possibly 8 years to kick it at the White House. Why burn bridges before the first month of office? 4 years for a woman is plenty of time to wear multiple clothes. While men are still wearing underwear from 2007, women are throwing out clothes from late 2008. I didn't know what the designers looked like until I saw them on Good Morning America. I really didn't have time to appreciate the grandness of it all. Why you ask? I had to get to work to help pay for the mortgage and the rest of the bills.
I personally don't care what Mrs. Obama wears because I'm not her husband. Sure my wife is watching to see what she wears. And every now and again, I make a comment but that's about it. I'm sure Mrs. Obama will eventually get around to wearing clothes from black designers. It's too early for this kind of foolishness. We still have Easter Sunday (you know how we do!!) and a host of other events she has to attend. Her kids wear J Crew so if you are expecting Baby Phat……maybe not. But there is room for the B. Michaels of the world to showcase their skills. Then they will get their designs judged harshly like the non-black designers. Then we will truly come together in this country under one criticism… oops I mean one nation.
Question: Does Michelle Obama owe it to black designers to wear their gear? Are the folks at the Black Artists Association shooting themselves in the foot, or do they have a point?
Amnau Eele's Black Artists Association complaint about Michelle Obama's choice of dress designers spurs backlash [Chicago Tribune]
More From Citizen Ojo [The Desultory Life & Times of a Public Citizen]
