Michelle Obama Thesis Was on Racial Divide

vorlos

Junior News Editor
http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2008/06/michelle_obama.php

Jeffrey Ressner, Politico, February 22, 2008

Michelle Obama’s senior year thesis at Princeton University, obtained from the campaign by Politico, shows a document written by a young woman grappling with a society in which a black Princeton alumnus might only be allowed to remain “on the periphery."�

“My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my ”�’blackness’ than ever before,"� the future Mrs. Obama wrote in her thesis introduction.

“I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don’t belong. Regardless of the circumstances underwhich I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I wil
l always be black first and a student second."�

The thesis, titled “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community"� and written under her maiden name, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, in 1985, has been the subject of much conjecture on the blogosphere and elsewhere in recent weeks, as it has been “temporarily withdrawn"� from Princeton’s library until after this year’s presidential election in November. Some of the material has been written about previously, however, including a story last year in the Newark Star Ledger.

Obama writes that the path she chose by attending Princeton would likely lead to her “further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant."�

Attempts to retrieve the document through Princeton proved unsuccessful, with school librarians having been pestered so much for access to the thesis that they have resorted to reading fr
om a script when callers inquire about it. Media officers at the prestigious university were similarly unhelpful, claiming it is “not unusual"� for a thesis to be restricted and refusing to discuss “the academic work of alumni."�

The Obama campaign, however, quickly responded to a request for the thesis by Politico. The thesis offers several fascinating insights into the mind of Michelle Obama, who has been a passionate advocate of her husband’s presidential aspirations and who has made several controvesial statements, including this week’s remark, “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country."� That comment has fueled debate on countless blogs, radio talk shows and cable news for days on end, causing her to explain the statement in greater detail.

“In defining the concept of identification or the ability to identify with the black community,"� the Princeton student wrote, “I based my definition on the premise that there is a distinctive black cu
lture
very different from white culture."� Other thesis statements specifically pointed to what was seen by the future Mrs. Obama as racially insensitive practices in a university system populated with mostly Caucasian educators and students: “Predominately white universities like Princeton are socially and academically designed to cater to the needs of the white students comprising the bulk of their enrollments."�


Perhaps one of the most germane subjects approached in the thesis is a section in which she conveyed views about political relations between black and white communities. She quotes the work of sociologists James Conyers and Walter Wallace, who discussed “integration of black official(s) into various aspects of politics"� and notes “problems which face these black officials who must persuade the white community that they are above issues of race and that they are representing all people and not just black people,"� as opposed to creating “two separate social structures."�



Read the full thesis here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4


COMMENT:

“â┚¬¦She HAD to be an affirmative action enrolleeâ┚¬¦"�

Posted by Annoyed In Illinois at 10:20 PM on June 16

She certain was—Newsweek had the ”�’audacity’ to print this:

“â┚¬¦ but she was not at the top of her class. She didn’t get the attention of the school’s college counselors, who helped the brightest students find spots at prestigious universities. â┚¬¦ Some of her teachers told her she didn’t have the grades or test scores to make it to the Ivies. But she applied to Princeton and was accepted."� IMAGINE THAT! WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED! :bongo:


We may well have a White-hating racist as our First Lady even though in Steve Sailer’s words: “â┚¬¦Few individuals have enjoyed more palpable and repeated evidence of the essential decency of the White man’s culture than Michelle Obamaâ┚¬¦."� BUT THAT'S IT. THE "ES
SENTIAL DECENCY" SHE AND HER "CULTURE" DO NOT POSSESS, BUT SULLENLY DESPISE.


My vote this Nov. will be foremost against the Obamas.

Bon


Posted by BonBon at 9:39 AM on June 17
 
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