Michelle Obama Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline Miscellaneous Michelle Obama Biography Michelle Obama is the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama and the first African-American First Lady. This biography of Michelle Obama provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline 277 The Closer, Renaissance, FLOTUS Also Known As Michelle Robinson, Michelle Robinson Obama, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, Renaissance, The Closer, FLOTUS, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Mooch Famous as First Lady of the United States Nationality United Church of Christ, Protestantism political ideology Natasha Obama, Malia Ann Obama education 1981 - Whitney M. Young Magnet High School Net worth Kidsâ Choice Big Help Award - 2010 Shorty Special Award for GIFStar - 2013 Image Credit Michelle Obama is the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama and the first African-American First Lady of the United States. A lawyer by training, she is the 44th First Lady and the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree.

As an educated, intelligent, and independent minded woman, she has become a role model for women not just in America, but all over the world. Born as Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, she grew up in a middle-class family and had a conventional upbringing. She learned the values of hard work and perseverance from her father who despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age, never let the disease overcome his ambitions. Her home-maker mother instilled in her a reverence for family values. She was a bright girl who performed well at school and went on to graduate from the Harvard Law School. She was a successful lawyer when she met and married another lawyer, Barack Obama, and was soon juggling the roles of being a wife and mother along with being a professional. She played a major role in her husbandâs presidential campaigns and her responsibilities increased manifold after becoming the First Lady. In this role she has focused on issues relating to women empowerment, childrenâs health and education, organic food movement, and national service Childhood & Early Life Michelle Obama was born on 17 January, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. Her father Fraser Robinson III was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department.

Her mother Marian was a stay-at-home mother who considered it her priority to raise Michelle and her brother Craig. She received a conventional upbringing and her childhood was a happy one. She was a bright student from an early age and joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School by the time she was in sixth grade. She attended the Whitney Young High School where she took advanced placement classes and was a member of the National Honor Society. She graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of her class. Then she went to the Princeton University where she majored in sociology and African-American studies. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985. Following her graduation she went to the Harvard Law School from where she earned her Juris Doctor (JD) in 1988. There she worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases. Later Life Michelle Obama was appointed as an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin where she worked on marketing and intellectual property. She then embarked on a career in public service and became an Assistant to the Mayor in 1991 and then served as the assistant commissioner of planning and development for the City of Chicago.

In 1993, she became the Executive Director for the Chicago Office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization. She worked there for nearly four years, guiding and encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. Michelle Obama served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago in 1996. In 2002, she became the executive director for community affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals and a few years later was appointed the Vice President for Community and External Affairs in 2005. Married to presidential aspirant Barack Obama by this time, she cut back on her own job and ultimately quit her lucrative high paying position in order to work on her husbandâs presidential campaign. Barack Obama declared his presidential candidacy in 2007 and Michelle reduced her professional responsibilities greatly to support her husbandâs career. Initially she did not get much involved in the campaign as she had two young daughters to care for. However by February 2008 her participation in her husbandâs career increased considerably. By now she even started writing her own speeches for Barackâs campaigns.

Barack Obama became the President of the United States in January 2009 and Michelle Obama, the First Lady. During her initial months as First Lady, she volunteered at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. She advocated on behalf of military families, encouraged national service, and supported initiatives that help working women balance career and family. She also advocated for her husband's policy priorities and supported the economic stimulus bill. She launched the âLetâs Move!â initiative in 2010. The initiative strives to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity by providing healthier food in the schools and encouraging kids to be more physically active. The focus is also on motivating parents to make healthier choices for their kids. She collaborated with Dr. Jill Biden in 2011 to launch the initiative, âJoining Forcesâ which calls all Americans to support service members, veterans and their families. âJoining Forcesâ works closely with the public and private sector to ensure that veterans and their families receive the requisite support. In 2014 she launched the âReach Higherâ initiative which aims at inspiring young people in America to continue their education past high school.

The program encourages students to complete a professional training course or a college or university degree by making them understand the significance of higher education. Personal Life & Legacy Michelle first met Barack Obama in 1989. He was a summer intern at the law firm she worked for, and she was assigned as an adviser to him. They eventually fell in love and married in October 1992. The couple has two daughters: Malia Ann and Natasha. She is a very committed mother and considers her family her first priority. She is also very well-known for her sense of fashion. She is considered to be an American fashion icon and trendsetter. Michelle Obama appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of âVogueâ. Net Worth Michelle Obama has an estimated net worth of $11.8 million Translate this page to Spanish, French, Hindi, Portuguese Pictures of Michelle Obama Michelle Obama | whitehouse.gov Air Force One Michelle Obama First Lady Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is a lawyer, writer, and the wife of the 44th and current President, Barack Obama. She is the first African-American First Lady of the United States.

Through her four main initiatives, she has become a role model for women and an advocate for healthy families , service members and their families , higher education , and international adolescent girls education . Download Hi-res (1207 KB) When people ask First Lady Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn't hesitate to say that first and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha's mom. But before she was a mother — or a wife, lawyer, or public servant — she was Fraser and Marian Robinson's daughter. The Robinsons lived in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. Fraser was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, and despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age, he hardly ever missed a day of work. Marian stayed home to raise Michelle and her older brother Craig, skillfully managing a busy household filled with love, laughter, and important life lessons. A product of Chicago public schools, Michelle Robinson studied sociology and African-American studies at Princeton University. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988, she joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met Barack Obama, the man who would become the love of her life. After a few years, Mrs.

Obama decided her true calling was working with people to serve their communities and their neighbors. She served as assistant commissioner of planning and development in Chicago's City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares youth for public service. In 1996, Mrs. Obama joined the University of Chicago with a vision of bringing campus and community together. As Associate Dean of Student Services, she developed the university's first community service program, and under her leadership as Vice President of Community and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center, volunteerism skyrocketed. Mrs. Obama has continued her efforts to support and inspire young people during her time as First Lady. In 2010, she launched Let’s Move! , bringing together community leaders, educators, medical professionals, parents, and others in a nationwide effort to address the challenge of childhood obesity. Let’s Move! has an ambitious goal: to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. Whether it's providing healthier food in our schools, helping kids be more physically active, or urging companies to market healthier foods to our children, Let’s Move! is focused on giving parents the support they need to make healthier choices for their kids.

In 2011, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden came together to launch Joining Forces , a nationwide initiative calling all Americans to rally around service members, veterans, and their families and support them through wellness, education, and employment opportunities. Joining Forces works hand in hand with the public and private sector to ensure that service members, veterans, and their families have the tools they need to succeed throughout their lives. In 2014, Mrs. Obama launched the Reach Higher Initiative, an effort to inspire young people across America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university. Reach Higher aims to ensure that all students understand what they need to complete their education by working to expose students to college and career opportunities; helping them understand financial aid eligibility; encouraging academic planning and summer learning opportunities; and supporting high school counselors who do essential work to help students get into college. In 2015, Mrs. Obama joined President Obama to launch Let Girls Learn , a U.S. government-wide initiative to help girls around the world go to school and stay in school. As part of this effort, Mrs.

Obama is calling on countries across the globe to help educate and empower young women, and she is sharing the stories and struggles of these young women with young people here at home to inspire them to commit to their own education. As First Lady, Mrs. Obama looks forward to continuing her work on the issues close to her heart — supporting military families, helping children lead healthier lives, and encouraging all our young people to fulfill their boundless promise. Michelle Obama - First Ladies - HISTORY.com Michelle Obama A+E Networks Introduction Michelle Obama (1964-) was an American first lady and the wife of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. An Ivy League graduate, she built a successful career, first as a lawyer, and then in the private sector, which she maintained throughout her husband’s early political career. Concerned about the effect the campaign would have on their young daugthers, Michelle was initially reluctant to support the idea of her husband’s run for the presidency. Despite her initial misgivings, she proved to be an effective surrogate for him on the campaign trail. After her husband’s election, she chose a number of causes to support; advocating for support for military families and encouraging healthy eating to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity.

As a young mother, a fashion icon and the first African-American first lady, Michelle Obama became a role model to many Americans. Google Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago , Illinois , to parents Marian and Fraser Robinson. Although Fraser’s modest pay as a city-pump operator led to cramped living in their South Shore bungalow, the Robinsons were a close-knit family, with Michelle and older brother Craig pushed to excel in school. Both children skipped the second grade, and Michelle was later chosen for a gifted-student program that enabled her to take French and advanced biology courses. Making the lengthy daily trip to attend Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Michelle became student council treasurer and a member of the National Honor Society before graduating as class salutatorian in 1981. She then followed her brother to Princeton University, where she created a reading program for the children of the school’s manual laborers. A sociology major with a minor in African-American studies, she explored the connections between the school’s black alumni and their communities in her senior thesis, graduating cum laude in 1985. After earning her J.D.

from Harvard Law School in 1988, Michelle joined the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin as a junior associate specializing in marketing and intellectual property. Assigned to mentor a summer intern named Barack Obama , she deflected his initial romantic advancements before they began dating. They were engaged within two years, and married at the Trinity United Church of Christ on October 3, 1992. Michelle left corporate law in 1991 to pursue a career in public service, enabling her to fulfill a personal passion and create networking opportunities that would benefit her husband’s future political career. Initially an assistant to Chicago mayor Richard Daley , she soon became the city’s assistant commissioner of planning and development. In 1993, she was named executive director for the Chicago branch of Public Allies, a leadership-training program for young adults. Moving on to the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services, she developed the school’s first community-service program. When Obama decided to run for Illinois state senator in 1996, Michelle proved a disciplined campaign aide by canvassing for signatures and throwing fundraising parties.

However, their victory presented the family with new challenges; following the births of daughters Malia (1998) and Sasha (2001), Michelle often had to juggle the demands of work and child-rearing alone with her husband tending to business in the state capital of Springfield. Successful despite the difficulties, Michelle was named executive director of community relations and external affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals in 2002. She was promoted to vice president after three years, and served on the boards of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, but eventually scaled back her work hours and commitments to support Obama’s entry into the U.S. presidential race. Initially criticized for her candor, Michelle soon proved an asset on the campaign trail with her knack for delivering relatable stories about her family. In addition to becoming the first African-American first lady upon Obama’s Election Day victory in 2008, she became the third with a post-graduate degree. Michelle sought to tie her own agendas to her husband’s larger legislative goals, notably targeting the epidemic of childhood obesity while the Affordable Care Act was being created.

In 2009, she worked with local elementary school students to plant a 1,100-square-foot vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House . The following year she launched the Let’s Move! initiative to promote healthy eating and physical activity. In 2011, Michelle co-founded the Joining Forces program to expand educational and employment options for veterans and to raise awareness about the difficulties plaguing military families. After helping Obama win a second term in office, she formed the Reach Higher initiative to inspire young people to explore higher education and career-development opportunities. Continuing the family theme of her campaign speeches, the first lady stressed the importance of remaining a diligent parent and brought her mother to live with her in the White House. She was also recognized for an ability to connect to younger generations by remaining attuned to popular culture. Embracing the use of social media, she encouraged fans to follow her progress on her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, and proved willing to bring her messages to audiences by appearing in humorous sketches online and on television. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today.

Tags Michelle Obama Biography :: National First Ladies' Library Chicago, Illinois 17 January, 1964 *Michelle Obama is the third First Lady born in Chicago, Illinois, after Betty Ford (1918) and Hillary Clinton (1947). Although Nancy Reagan identifies herself as a Chicagoan she was born in Flushing, Queens, New York and spent her childhood in Bethesda, Maryland. Nancy Reagan did spend her adolescent and teenage years in Chicago where she was adopted by her stepfather to whom her mother had remarried. Mary Lincoln also identified herself as a Chicagoan in the first years of her widowhood, having assumed residency in Chicago, first in rented quarters and then in purchasing a home there. She was born in Kentucky and spent her young adult years in Springfield, Illinois. Father: Fraser Robinson III, born 1 August 1935, Chicago, Illinois; City of Chicago Waterworks, pump worker and Democratic Party precinct captain (volunteer); died 6 March 1991 Mother: Marian Shields Robinson, born July 1937, Chicago, Illinois; married to Fraser Robinson, 1960 in Chicago; a stay-at-home mother while her children were young, Mrs.

Robinson later worked as secretary in the offices of Spiegel Catalogue until the 2008 presidential election *Marian Robinson is only the third First Lady’s mother to take up official residence in the White House, following Madge Wallace and Minnie Doud, the mothers of Bess Truman and Mamie Eisenhower, respectively. However, Juliana Gardiner and Emma Folsom, the mothers of Julia Tyler and Frances Cleveland, respectively, also made lengthy stays which might be considered residency. Ancestry: African. Although Michelle Obama’s genealogy has not yet been extensively researched, it is known that at least one of her paternal great-great-grandfathers, James Robinson had been enslaved in Georgetown, South Carolina. In one speech while President Obama was campaigning, he indicated that there is also descent in his wife’s family from a European-American ancestor.

Birth Order and Siblings: second child, one brother; Craig Robinson, born April 1962, currently head basketball coach of the Oregon State Beavers Physical Appearance: Brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet, 11 inches tall *Michelle Obama stands at the same height as Eleanor Roosevelt, making them both equally the tallest First Ladies Education: Bryn Mawr Elementary School (renamed Bouchet Academy), Chicago, Illinois, 1970-1977. Michelle Robinson was such an excellent student that she was able to skip the second grade. In 1975, while enrolled in the sixth grade, she was chosen for a “gifted student” program which permitted her the chance to take advanced biology and French classes at Kennedy-King Community College. Whitney Young Magnet High School, Chicago, Illinois, 1977-1981. Based on her academic excellence, Michelle Robinson was given the chance to attend the first “magnet” high school in Chicago, which afforded students a greater depth and breadth of study with a focus on college preparedness.

As a student here, Michelle Robinson was enrolled in advanced-placement classes, was invited and joined the National Honor Society, and served as Student Council Treasurer. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 1981-1985, bachelor’s degree in Sociology, with a minor degree in African-American Studies. She worked with both the Third World Center and belonged to the Organization of Black Unity, an African-American student group. She graduated cum laude. Harvard Law School, Juris doctor degree, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1985-1988. While in attendance, Michelle Robinson joined the Black Law Students Association, which often brought speaks to campus, addressing legal issues and career guidance. Occupation before Marriage: As a young girl, Michelle Robinson has household chores for which she was responsible and shared with her brother. Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Understanding (formerly, Third World Center), Princeton, New Jersey, 1981-1985. While at Princeton University, Michelle Robinson enrolled in a work-study program, helping to earn part of her tuition. She worked at the center, creating an after-school reading program for the children of the manual workers of the university.

Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1985-1988. While in law school, Michelle Robinson worked to help local residents unable to afford legal advice and representation, on issues ranging from divorce, custody and tenant rights. Associate Attorney, Sidley & Austin, 1988-1991. Upon graduating from Harvard Law School, Michelle Robinson accepted a job as an associate attorney in the Chicago offices of the law firm Sidley & Austin, where she specialized in intellectual property rights and marketing, representing clients that included AT&T and Union Carbide. Assistant to the Mayor, City of Chicago, 1991-1992. Although her work as an attorney enabled Michelle Obama to meet the substantial monetary debt resulting from her college and law school educations, the death of both her father and a friend provoked a focus on her priorities and values, leading her to determine to build a career in community service. She took a position in this line of professional work as an assistant in the office of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, where she was employed for a year before moving to another position within the city government.

Drawing on her business experience from the law firm, she was charged with serving as a liaison between the city and fledgling businesses, seeking to help encourage Chicago economic development. Marriage: 28 years old, married 3 October, 1992 to Barack Obama, 31 years old, (born 4 August, 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii, lawyer and community organizer) at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois. Michelle Robinson first met Barack Obama when he came to work as a summer associate in June of 1989 at Sidley & Austin, where she was already working as an attorney. When he returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts to complete Harvard Law School (graduated 1990), they continue to correspond and date. They became engaged in 1991. Their first home was an apartment in the Hyde Park section of Chicago. Barack Obama taught at the University of Chicago law school and worked at a small civil rights law firm. Children: Two daughters; Malia Ann (born 4 July, 1998) and Natasha “Sasha (born 7 June, 2001).

Both girls are students at Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C. *Michelle Obama is the first First Lady to have given birth in the 21st century Occupation after Marriage: Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development, in the office of the Mayor of Chicago, (1992-1993). Michelle Obama was working in this position at the time of her marriage. Executive Director of Public Allies Chicago, (1993-1996) Michelle Obama was the founding director of the Chicago branch of this organization, which seeks to identify potential community leaders among young people from all backgrounds, levels of education and professional experiences and then to train them to assume leadership of both established and fledgling organizations which serve various constituencies in their communities or region. As the founder of the Chicago branch of the organization, which soon became part of the Clinton Administration’s AmeriCorps, Michelle Obama was a highly successful fundraiser and executive, helping launch Public Allies successfully. Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, (1996-2002), Michelle Obama worked during her pregnancy and after the birth of her two daughters. From her job at Public Allies she went into the employ of the University of Chicago.

In her first job there, she increased rates of voluntarism between the student body and the local neighborhood bordering the university. Executive Director for community affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals (2002-2005) and Executive Vice President for community and external affairs (2005-2008) In 2002, Mrs. Obama continued to work for the University of Chicago, first as the executive director at its network of medical facilities and then, for the subsequent three years, in its office that sought to engage the university community with the residential ones adjoining it. In these two latter roles... Initially leery of her husband’s ambition to enter politics because of its instability, she campaigned for him during his failed 2000 race for U.S. Congress and his successful one for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Michelle Obama continued to work full-time and raise her daughters in Chicago while her husband worked as a Senator in Washington and returned home on weekends and recesses. Michelle Obama served on several boards, including TreeHouse Foods, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Presidential Campaign and Inauguration: Through the latter months of 2007 leading up to the state primaries and caucuses of the 2008 presidential campaign, Michelle Obama continued to work, reducing her hours at the University of Chicago Medical Center while increasing the days she spent speaking to groups throughout the country. She initially limited her absences from home to day trips and then eventually to trips involving one-overnight away from home per week, in order to maintain her responsibilities as mother to her two young daughters. In October 2007, she participated in the first forum ever held which gathered nearly all the spouses of both Democratic and Republican candidates running for the presidency, at the Women’s Conference in Long Beach, California, hosted by California’s First Lady Maria Shriver. As the primaries ensued during the winter and spring of 2008, Michelle Obama took an increasingly active role, speaking to voters in different states about her husband but also drawing experiences from her own life that spoke directly to the goals of her husband’s potential presidency, finding a personal link to her audiences.

Spontaneous remarks she made at Wisconsin campaign event in February 2008, about being proud of her country “for the first time” were interpreted negatively by some Republican media commentators and Cindy McCain, wife of the Republican candidate. Five months later, however, incumbent First Lady Laura Bush defended Mrs. Obama, stating, “I think she probably meant I'm 'more proud,' you know, is what she really meant. I mean, I know that, and that's one of the things you learn and that's one of the really difficult parts both of running for president and for being the spouse of the president, and that is, everything you say is looked at and in many cases misconstrued.” The incident had no significant affect on the election. Michelle Obama also delivered a stirring speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, which won overwhelming praise from the media and public, as reflected in polls. Although she offered her opinion at times on the campaign strategy, she emphasized that she was not a policy advisor. When Barack Obama was elected president in November of 2008, he thanked his wife for her sacrifices to his career and his reliance on her support.

Through the campaign, he frequently referred to her as “the rock” which grounded him and their family. Tremendous media attention and public interest increased on Michelle Obama’s clothing as the weeks from Election Day approached Inauguration Day, with sometimes hyperbolic predictions of how she would seek to set a new national style. More importantly would be the symbolism of her statements about making clothing purchases from popular stores of items at reasonable prices; this conveyed the new First Lady’s sense of conscientiousness about, and empathy for the increasing number of American citizens who found their home ownership threatened with bank foreclosures, loss of job or job security, decreased or lost health care and retirement benefits, and plummeting retirement savings. During the swearing-in ceremony of her husband, Michelle Obama held the historic and fragile Bible which had been used by President Abraham Lincoln for his presidential oath.

Most significant of all the events, in terms of Michelle Obama’s intentions, was her foregoing a traditional women’s event at which an incoming First Lady was traditionally honored the day before the Inauguration; instead, she and the president-elect hosted “a day of service,” encouraging the millions of visitors to Washington for the Inaugural, as well as around the nation, to commit to volunteer service in their community. Forecasting her own agenda as First Lady to create a national voluntary service program, she emphasized in her videotaped message about the day that it was her hope such commitments would continue past January 19th and be ongoing. 2009, January 20 - current incumbency 45 years old In her first weeks as First Lady, Michelle Obama has affirmed that her personal priority is the care of her two daughters. Although both are enrolled in school locally and live full-time at the White House with their parents, they are in a new city with new friends, and suddenly living a life where the most routine aspects of childhood are scrutinized by the press and public. The first manifestation of this public interest was a toy company which created dolls named after her daughters. After the First Lady expressed her dismay, the company decided to discontinue the line.

In terms of the areas of public issues she intends to focus her attention, Michelle Obama has identified three: helping working mothers find balance between family and employment commitments, providing necessary support for American military families, and encouraging voluntarism in community service. In her first weeks, the First Lady also made good on her promise to fully learn and integrate herself into her new community of Washington, D.C. She began with a working lunch with the city’s mayor and his wife, visits to schools and drop-bys and speeches at the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Coming to the Cabinet Department headquarters were the first of her intended visits to all of the other executive branch divisions. She is making these trips to introduce herself as a personal representative of the new Administration and provide a sense of connection to the thousands of civil service federal employees, emphasizing that they work in concert for the common goals. This is an unprecedented effort by a First Lady. Not since the 1940’s when Eleanor Roosevelt hosted several large receptions for women federal workers has a First Lady reached out in such a manner. In her remarks at HHS, Mrs.

Obama emphasized that she was there to listen and interact; this recalls the “eyes and ears” role played by Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Rosalynn Carter as they made frequent trips throughout the country meeting and speaking with citizens, hearing their concerns and problems directly and reporting their reactions from such fact-finding missions back to the President. Updated February 5, 2009 The Radical Racist Background of Michelle Obama Download Michelle Obama four of Michelle Obama's thesis papers from Princeton University here. Princeton, 1984 Charles C. Johnson wrote on October 30, 2012, "Michelle Obama attends and promotes a 'Black Solidarity' event for guest lecturer Manning Marable, who was, according to Cornel West, probably ' the best known black Marxist in the country .' The event is the work of the Third World Center (TWC), a campus group whose board membership is exclusively reserved for minorities." A classmate of Michelle’s identified her to TheBlaze as the second person on the left. Article/photograph taken from The Daily Princetonian – Vol. CVIII, No. 107 November 6, 1984 Daily Princetonian article showing Michelle as a board member.

With this documented article, we see that Michelle Obama, much like her husband is closely associated with the teachings of Marxism and had attended meetings with Marxist-type people. We must now wonder, why did the people elect a man with a wife that has such a marked background, mixed with Marxism and communism by association with such types of people? Michelle Robinson's racial animosity of Caucasian people is exposed through her articles and statements from the time she was at Princeton. One can see this in her ideas that the white population at Princeton were a bunch of "racist" individuals. Johnson quotes an article Michelle Robinson (Obama) wrote while at Princeton University, following an introduction to the quotation. If ever there was an example of the TWC governing board's obsession with race, an editorial from October 21, 1981 is it. The members took great offense to an op-ed titled "Rebuilding Race Relations," calling the article "racist, offensive, and inaccurate" for daring to question the group's true commitment and to present a thesis on race relations counter to its own. "The word RE-building implies that race relations once existed and, for some mysterious reasons, fell apart … ," the board wrote in a scathing letter to the editor.

"We, on the other hand, believe that race relations have ​never​ been and still are not at a satisfactory level. We are not RE-building. We cannot RE-build something that never existed in the first place." An early copy of the TWC’s constitution. (The Princeton Archives) Another copy of the constitution and the preamble. (The Princeton Archives) "Don't hide behind excuses such as a lack of effort [to integrate with the Princeton campus] on our part," the revealing letter added. "The bottom line is that white students on this campus are racist, but they may not realize it." [Emphasis added] Princeton itself, however, was concerned about the self-segregation by black students and proposed reforms to counter it, including no longer permitting black students to all room together in one dorm and integrating black freshmen into the general student body. The TWC strenuously opposed all of these reforms, arguing that integration of nonwhite students would harm the "support system" available to them, especially blacks.

(Julie Newton, " TWC criticizes CURL plan: Minority strife would worsen ," The Daily Princetonian, October 21, 1981)." The TWC is an organization of whose membership was exclusively reserved to Minorities only and the initials represent the words, "Third World Center". Here we have to note that Michelle Robinson was an activist that had the intention to change the very ideology of the Princeton school she got into through the use of her brother! Here, she makes the statement, "The bottom line is that white students on this campus are racist, but they may not realize it" [Emphasis added]. This clearly shows an animosity towards white people while she was attending Princeton, and it also shows just what she thought of the college that allowed her to enter based upon her brother's position and not her grades. Michelle Robinson was actually biting the hand that fed her! Princeton took a look at the problems and came up with a plan that would integrate the different people and bring them into a more associative bonding. However, this was not strong enough for Michelle Robinson or the TWC since that would solve the problem that they shine a spotlight on, but it was not what they wanted and they countered that idea as shown below.

"Princeton itself, however, was concerned about the self-segregation by black students and proposed reforms to counter it, including no longer permitting black students to all room together in one dorm and integrating black freshmen into the general student body. The TWC strenuously opposed all of these reforms, arguing that integration of nonwhite students would harm the "support system" available to them, especially blacks. (Julie Newton, " TWC criticizes CURL plan: Minority strife would worsen ," The Daily Princetonian, October 21, 1981)." Michelle Robinson was part of the group, but not a full board member at that time, but when she did become a board member she found yet another racially-charged way to make a statement. Michelle Obama was an individual that found fault with anything that dealt with ethnicity.

Johnson documents her actions and statements in 1983 as follows: "While Michelle was not a part of the board in 1981, as a board member of the Third World Center starting on April 7, 1983 she joined in a different racially-charged statement reproaching the college for not doing enough to hire "Latino administrators." In a letter a few weeks later, the TWC attacked Princeton's administration for not replacing Hector Delgado, a minority dean of students. "This search needs to produce another experienced individual who is of minority background, preferably Latino, and who will be responsive to the concerns of Third World Center as well as the student body at large," the TWC's governing board wrote. Others on campus took notice of the group's calls and expressed concern. For example, Fred Foote — the editor of Prospect magazine, a conservative monthly publication — criticized the TWC and Delgado for their obsessive focus on race.

"[Delgado's] penchant for drawing campus issues along racial lines—a penchant shared by the TWC and The Daily Princetonian—is the chief cause of racial strife on campus," he wrote ." Now this seems to show without a doubt that others on campus were looking at this action by the TWC of which Michelle Robinson,(Obama), was a part of. It seems to show that had she and the others just allowed actions to drift by, the so-called problems would have been much less in the front of the students than their curriculum was. Now one has to wonder why take such actions if the college was getting along just fine before? Michelle Robinson (Obama) did more than make meetings and express her seemingly hate for whites, she went on with the TWC and made demands for minority only meetings. She would have been up in arms to stop such meetings if they were to the exclusion of minorities. Yet it was fine, and even better, when she stood alongside a segregation policy that banned whites from any meetings held by the TWC! This is well noted in statements below. "In November 1984, TWC's board demanded that nonwhite students should have the right to bar whites from their meetings on campus.

They also demanded minorities-only meetings with the deans. (John Hurley, " Black students, university debate closed meeting policy ," The Daily Princetonian, November 29, 1984). The ban was frankly unnecessary, since whites were made to feel unwelcome at the meetings if they were invited at all, but the TWC continued to press for it , arguing, too, that blacks ought to be able to bar whites from attending events aimed at discussion of "sensitive" racial issues. "The administration, by denying us these [blacks-only] meetings, is saying that we don't have specific needs that have to be addressed this way," David Jackson , '87, a fellow TWC member, told the Daily Princetonian after the university officials finally rejected its proposal to hold racially limited meetings. But despite the radical and racialist character of the TWC, Michelle Robinson was an active participant and may have been attracted by that very radicalism. "The Third World Center was our life," Angela Acree, her best friend at Princeton, told The Boston Globe in June 2008 .

"We hung out there, we partied there, we studied there [in Liberation Hall]." "Not a day went by that I did not see Michelle at the Center," Czerni Brasuelle, TWC's director at the time, told the Daily Princetonian in its November 5, 2008 issue ." This would seem to indicate that Michelle Robinson (Obama) did not like the idea of all ethnicities working together, and would rather have them separate from each other. However, this is not what our nation had been working towards. It had been working towards having ethnic groups working together and not apart. This was so we all could be together as one nation, as Americans. Michelle Robinson in 1983-84 did not like that idea and helped call for separate and different meetings just for minorities. No whites could be there at all. Yet it was Michelle Robinson (Obama) that had stated that race relations at Princeton were deficient. However, it seems that she was part of the problem. She sat on the board of TWC to force Princeton to have separate meetings for minorities without any whites allowed! This does not bring ethnicities together nor does it resolve problems.

It would make them worse due to the distancing of the minorities from the white population and causing the white population to wonder what the monitories are planning. However, this was just the beginning for Michelle Robinson. This is the first of a 2 part article on Michelle Robinson Obama. The next article will show her use of Saul Alinsky's works, a man she admired along with her husband Barack Obama. Don't forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook , Google Plus , & Twitter . You can also get Freedom Outpost delivered to your Amazon Kindle device here . Previous post Militarized Police: Overkill is Becoming the Norm as Officers Shoot First and Ask Questions Later About the Author Leon Puissegur Leon Puissegur is a Disabled Vietnam Veteran with 3 children and 9 grandchildren. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for 43 years. He is an award winning author and has been writing opinion pieces over the years and in just the last few years has written 4 books and a large amount of articles on many sites. You can purchase his books at Amazon . Pick up his latest The Oil Man.

Trending on Freedom Outpost First Lady Michelle Obama Biography Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama Position: First African American First Lady and wife of Barack Obama , the 44th President of the United States and the first African American to serve as president Former vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center Born: January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois on the city's South Side Education: Graduated Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago's West Loop in 1981 Undergraduate: Princeton University, B.A. in sociology, minor in African American studies. Graduated 1985. Graduate: Harvard Law School. Graduated 1988. Family Background: Born to Marian and Fraser Robinson, Michelle had two early role models in her parents, whom she proudly identifies as 'working class.' Her father, a city pump operator and Democratic precinct captain, worked and lived with multiple sclerosis ; his limp and crutches did not affect his abilities as the family breadwinner. Michelle's mother stayed home with her children until they reached high school. continue reading below our video Profile of Barack Obama The family lived in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a brick bungalow.

The living room - converted with a divider down the middle - served as Michelle's bedroom. Childhood & Early Influences: Michelle and her older brother Craig, now an Ivy League basketball coach at Brown University, grew up hearing the story of their maternal grandfather. A carpenter who was denied union membership due to race, he was shut out of the city's top construction jobs. Yet the children were taught they could succeed despite any prejudices they might encounter over race and color. Both children were bright and skipped second grade. Michelle entered a gifted program in sixth grade. From their parents - who had never attended college - Michelle and her brother learned that achievement and hard work were key. College & Law School: Michelle was discouraged from applying to Princeton by high school advisors who felt her scores weren't adequate. Yet she graduated from the college with honors. She was one of very few black students attending Princeton at the time, and the experience made her acutely aware of the issues of race. When she applied to Harvard Law, she again faced bias as college counselors tried to talk her out of her decision. Despite their doubts, she excelled. Professor David B.

Wilkins remembers Michelle as forthright: "She always stated her position clearly and decisively." Career in Corporate Law: After graduating from Harvard Law School, Michelle joined the law firm of Sidley Austin as an associate specializing in marketing and intellectual property . In 1988, a summer intern two years older by the name of Barack Obama came to work at the firm, and Michelle was assigned as his mentor . They married in 1992. In 1991, the death of her father from complications related to MS caused Michelle to re-evaluate her life; she subsequently decided to leave corporate law to work in the public sector. Career in Public Sector: Michelle first served as assistant to Chicago mayor Richard M. Daly; later she became assistant commissioner of planning and development. In 1993, she founded Public Allies Chicago which provided young adults with leadership training for public service careers. As executive director, she headed up a non-profit named by President Bill Clinton as a model AmeriCorps program. In 1996, she joined the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services, and established its first community service program.

In 2002, she was named the University of Chicago Hospitals' executive director of community and external affairs. Balancing Career, Family, and Politics: Following her husband's election to the US Senate in November 2004, Michelle was appointed vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center in May 2005. Despite Barack's dual roles in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, Michelle did not consider resigning from her position and and moving to the nation's capitol. Only after Barack announced his presidential campaign did she adjust her work schedule; in May 2007 she cut her hours by 80% to accommodate the needs of the family during his candidacy. Personal: Although she resists the labels 'feminist' and 'liberal,' Michelle Obama is widely recognized as outspoken and strong-willed . She has juggled career and family as a working mother , and her positions indicate progressive ideas on the roles of women and men in society. Michelle and Barack Obama have two daughters, Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).

Updated February 9, 2009 Digging up dirt on Michelle Obama | PolitiFact Digging up dirt on Michelle Obama By Angie Drobnic Holan on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 6:43 p.m. SUMMARY: E-mailers go after Sen. Barack Obama by digging into his wife's college years. They take Michelle Obama's senior thesis and add their own fabrication. There seems to be no shortage of serious issues for this campaign season, but lurking in e-mail accounts are attacks on the candidates' biographies. Sen. Barack Obama has been a particular target of anonymous e-mail; we at PolitiFact have received more negative e-mails about him than any other candidate, by a significant margin. Typically, e-mails portray him as unpatriotic and un-American. The latest chain e-mail involves his wife. The e-mail looks at a research paper Michelle Obama wrote while a student at Princeton University 23 years ago. It takes a few actual sentences out of context, and fabricates a few quotes that don't exist in her work.

The e-mail begins: "In her senior thesis at Princeton, Michele Obama, the wife of Barack Obama stated that America was a nation founded on 'crime and hatred.' Moreover, she stated that whites in America were 'ineradicably racist.' The 1985 thesis, titled 'Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community' was written under her maiden name, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson." Later the e-mail opines, "Michele (sic) Obama clearly has a chip on her shoulder. Not only does she see separate black and white societies in America, but she elevates black over white in her world." But nowhere in the thesis does Michelle Obama write the words "crime and hatred" or that whites are "ineradicably racist." The e-mail does get the thesis title, her maiden name and the year correct. It also uses real quotations from the thesis, though a few are taken out of context. The thesis is available on the Internet; the politics news site Politico reported on it in February and posted a copy it had obtained from Princeton University . We downloaded a copy, which appears to be complete with no numbered pages missing. We read it, but we did not find the phrases the e-mail describes.

We took the additional step of scanning the document through optical character recognition software so we could search its text electronically. An automated search did not find the words "crime," "hatred," "hate," "ineradicably," or "racist" in the document. Every senior at Princeton writes a thesis or finishes an independent project. Famous alumni who wrote undergraduate theses at Princeton include New Yorker editor David Remnick ("The Sympathetic Thread: 'Leaves of Grass' 1855-1865") and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ("An Introduction to the Italian Constitutional Court"). Obama wrote her thesis as part of a bachelor's degree in sociology and graduated with honors, according to Princeton University's Department of Sociology Web site. Sociology uses scientific methods to study human group behavior. In Obama's thesis, she sought to quantify how the attitudes of black Princeton alumni changed after graduation in regard to race relations and social change. Obama was especially interested in the attitudes of Princeton alumni in regard to improving the lives of lower-income blacks. To document the change in attitudes, Obama devised an 18-question survey and mailed it to black alumni. Her thesis is a discussion of her methodology and an analysis of the results.

It contains a limited amount of personal opinion in the introduction, including the sentence the e-mail cites. Here is a fuller excerpt: "Earlier in my college career, there was no doubt in my mind that as a member of the Black community I was somehow obligated to this community and would utilize all of my present and future resources to benefit this community first and foremost. My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'Blackness' than ever before. 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 under which I interact with Whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be Black first and a student second." Obama's perceptions have been supported at least in part by recent reporting: Obama's freshmen-year roommate tried to change rooms upon arrival at Princeton because her mother was horrified that Obama was black , according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

But Obama writes a few paragraphs later that her earlier assumptions were changing, too: "At the same time, however, it is conceivable that my four years of exposure to a predominately White, Ivy League University has instilled within me certain conservative values. For example, as I enter my final year at Princeton, I find myself striving for many of the same goals as my White classmates — acceptance to a prestigious graduate or professional school or a high paying position in a successful corporation. Thus, my goals after Princeton are not as clear as before." The rest of the thesis goes on to discuss survey methodology such as independent variables, dependent variables and sample size, then summarizes the survey response. Obama found that black alumni identified with the black community the most during their years at Princeton, moreso than either before or afterward, and she discusses a number of possible reasons for the survey results. Certainly, Obama's thesis is race-conscious. But it does not include anything that can fairly be described as antiwhite invective. But should a candidate's wife's undergraduate course work from 23 years ago be fair game in the election?

Even academics have mixed feelings about it, according to the news Web site InsideHigherEd.com , because the work is typically that of someone who has just recently entered adulthood. Political observers have questioned the relevance of a spouse's academic work. When the thesis became public in February 2008, it was a topic on the Fox News show Hannity & Colmes . Former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a noted conservative and a commentator for the network, said on the show he thought her thesis work wasn't relevant to the current campaign. "First off, a spouse's personal life is out of bounds, period, end of discussion," Santorum said. "This is something that she did at an age when you write some pretty strange stuff sometimes. I hope they don't pull up my college thesis papers." "If she's out, as she was on the campaign trail, speaking on behalf of her husband, and she says something at that point and it's in the public policy realm, fine, then that's a legitimate point," he added. "But to dig out someone's past, (it's) out of bounds.

Leave it alone, move on." Republicans may be more sensitive this year about issues of a spouse's past because of Cindy McCain's history with a painkiller addiction. McCain was stealing pills from a medical charity she ran and the incident became public in 1994. No charges were filed, and she reimbursed the charity, but the incident received national press coverage at the time. Obama himself has defended his wife, not for her thesis but for other attacks made against her on the campaign trial, saying people should not attack his wife. Obama said he found it "unacceptable" that the Republican Party should attack his wife or children, responding to a Tennessee state party ad that targeted Michelle Obama. "Michelle is the most honest, the best person I know. She is one of the most caring people I know. She loves this country. And for them to try to distort or to play snippets of her remarks in ways that are unflattering to her I think is just low class. And I think most of the American people would think that as well," Obama said.

Related rulings: The Angry Black Women, Michelle Obama And Me - The Daily Beast The Daily Beast 06.06.1311:35 AM ET The Angry Black Women, Michelle Obama, and Me Time for another flurry of accusations that the first lady is a militant, angry black woman. Sophia Nelson on why she should ignore the critics and continue to speak her mind. “Mrs. Obama is black, she is a woman, and if she doesn't get angry on occasion, she is not human. She is human. End of story.” —George F. Will, This Week, ABC, January 15, 2012 (in response to Michelle Obama saying she is not some “angry black woman” on CBS This Morning, January 11, 2012) Wait. This is déjà vu. We have been here before, haven’t we? Yes, I believe we have. It was during the hotly contested 2008 presidential race, the democratic primary was just about over, then-Sen.

Barack Obama was about to win the nomination, and his wife, Harvard-educated attorney turned hospital executive Michelle Obama came under fire in an infamous caricature of her on the cover of the July 2008 New Yorker magazine—sporting a large afro, toting a machine gun, and wearing militant ’70s clothes. The cover story was in response to the political flap that summer over her remarks that she was “proud of her country for the first time.” Conservative media pundits like Cal Thomas, Bill O’Reilly, and Rush Limbaugh immediately pounced, calling her—well, you guessed it—“an angry Black Woman.” If that wasn’t enough, they started to dig into her college senior thesis at Princeton. The thesis, titled “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community” and written under her maiden name—Michelle LaVaughn Robinson—examined the isolation she felt as a black student at the Ivy League college. She wrote: “My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'blackness' than ever before.

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 under which I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be black first and a student second." The furor continued and rumors emerged that there was even a damaging video of her saying “Down with whitey” at a private event at her then-controversial church with Pastor Jeremiah Wright. That video never surfaced because it never existed. Like millions of black women in America, I was ticked (yes, angry even). And I was appalled at how she was being vilified and attacked. I had experienced it too many times in my own professional and personal life, as every black woman who dares speak her mind, or share her point of view has at some point. I penned an article in The Washington Post titled “Black. Female. Accomplished. Attacked,” which went viral among black women and the mainstream media. I then took to the airwaves to defend Mrs. Obama and professional black women like her on CNN Morning .

Fortunately, the Obamas went on to win the White House, and the hopes and dreams of millions of black women like me were realized. We finally had someone who looked like “us” residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, who would represent us in a positive, affirming, and fulfilled way on a global platform. Michelle Obama is being criticized for how she confronted a heckler at a recent fundraiser. Mrs. Obama, Image & Stereotypes Fast forward to January 11, 2012: first lady Michelle Obama sits down for an interview with CBS’s Gayle King. They discuss the then-controversial new book, The Obamas, written by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, and its allegations that Mrs. Obama was an oft-combative force to be reckoned with in the West Wing. She pushed back saying: “I am not some kind of angry black woman.” Washington went crazy. Pundits (including me) took to the airwaves to analyze the wisdom of the first black first lady actually being bold enough to talk about race and angry-black-women stereotypes. The general consensus was she should not have used the term. Of course, I strongly disagreed. So here we are again.

Michelle Obama, now in the second term, finds herself smack dab in the middle of yet another controversy about how she “reacts” to what she does not like, or when she feels she is being “disrespected.” On Tuesday, the first lady was speaking at an event, she was heckled by a member of the LGBT community, and she apparently stopped her remarks, walked up to the woman—“eye to eye” witnesses say—and threatened to leave the event if the heckler did not listen instead of talk. The news spread quickly of the so-called confrontation, and this is where I want to start my well-honed observation of the incident. Given the backdrop of all I just shared, I think it’s fair to say that Obama has had to tread lightly since she appeared on the political scene in 2006 when her husband ran for the U.S. Senate. That is no longer the case in my opinion. To be honest, although it is quite the balancing act for black women like me and like Obama to have to walk every day of our professional lives, dodging and deflecting stereotypes, we are good at it. It is second nature.

But, I also know what it is like to keep your emotions suppressed all the time for fear that if you speak your mind, be authentic with people, or stand up for yourself, you will be called “strident,” “angry,” “mean,” “bitchy,” “not a team player,” or worse. I could go on and on, but nothing—and I do mean nothing—that this woman has displayed over the past five years remotely resembles ‘angry.’ Obama as first lady has a unique role in history. She is the first. She has been consistently ranked as a Forbes Power Woman. And her influence on fashion and style has set records for companies like J.Crew, “off the rack” clothing in department stores, and “high fashion” couture. As a black woman, she has become the standard-bearer of how the world sees “us.” In this second term, she no longer has to worry about what people call her. It is what she answers to that matters most. Her confronting the heckler on Tuesday was a great American moment of human exchange, one that says to the world, “Ain’t I a woman too?” Don’t I deserve the dignity and respect of my role as first lady?

Don’t I deserve to be respectfully heard? Yes. She does. Here is the truth: Obama defies negative stereotypes about black women, and turns them square on their head. She is physically fit and toned (many black women in America are obese according to the CDC and health indices). She works out daily. She eats well and ensures that her family (and the nation through her Let’s Move initiative) does as well. She has an ongoing and open love affair with her husband, the president, that harks back to the Cosby era of the 1980s–’90s. She is a good daughter (her mom lives in the White House). She is a great friend (she has drinks with the girls). She makes us laugh with Jimmy Kimmel on late-night TV. She loves our military and is their greatest champion here at home. I could go on and on, but nothing—and I do mean nothing—that this woman has displayed over the past five years remotely resembles “angry.” Where Do We Go From Here In the final analysis, Michelle Obama, like me, and every professional “sister” I know, has to walk a fine line.

I am hopeful that having her as first lady will change the game for us in ways that allow us to feel and express the same range of emotion that all human beings are allowed to have (except us). The subtitle of my book, Black Woman Redefined , reads: “Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment In the Age of Michelle Obama.” The age of Michelle Obama is a creation in my mind of what I hope life will be like for black women after she is no longer first lady of the United States. My hope is that her candor on issues like racial stereotypes and gender, will allow “us” to be more candid without fear of backlash or social isolation. My hope is that her balanced approach to living and loving will inspire a new generation of young black women to do the same. My hope is that her disciplined example of taking time to exercise, rest, and frolic with her spouse and kids will force some of us to step back and do the same.

My hope is that she will change the way that people see us, particularly as professional black women, as too much Olivia Pope (tough, fixers, side-chicks, always working), and not enough Michelle Obama (mom, wife, fit, easy, fun, sister, friend). At the end of the day, stereotypes are not funny when they follow you everywhere. Obama’s latest controversy conjures up the age-old discussion of the “angry black woman.” The not-so-subtle message is this: be careful of the “angry black woman” because you never know when she might just “go off” on you. It keeps us in our place. It keeps us mute and it hinders our progress as human beings. My hope is that Obama will continue to speak her mind, honor herself, and stand her ground in such a way that helps the rest of us to do the same. Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide - POLITICO POLITICO Michelle Obama's senior thesis at Princeton University shows a young woman grappling with race and society.

Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide Share on Facebook Share on Twitter 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." Read the full thesis here: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 . "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 will always be black first and a student second." Story Continued Below 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." During a presidential contest in which the term "transparency" has been frequently bandied about, candidates have buried a number of potentially revealing documents and papers. In Hillary Rodham Clinton's case, there's been a clamoring for tax records, White House memos and other material the candidate's team has chosen to keep from release.

The 96-page Princeton thesis, restricted from release by the school's Mudd Library, has also been the subject of recent scrutiny. Earlier this week, commentator Jonah Goldberg remarked on National Review Online, "A reader in the know informs me that Michelle Obama's thesis ... is unavailable until Nov. 5, 2008, at the Princeton library. I wonder why." "Why a restricted thesis?" asked blogger-pastor Louis Lapides on his site Thinking Outside the Blog. "Is the concern based on what's in the thesis? Will Michelle Obama appear to be too black for white America or not black enough for black America?" 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 from 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."

Question: Michelle Robinson is the maiden name of which famous wife?
Answer: Michelle Obama