First Lady Michelle Obama & Mom: On Raising Smart, Confident Kids, Strong Marriages and Future Plans
From our friends at Essence.
A Mother’s Love: First Lady and Mom Cover Essence
In their first interview together, First Lady Michelle Obama and her mother, Marian Robinson, sit down in the White House to speak exclusively to ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief Angela Burt-Murray about retaining their family values, what it takes to raise good kids, and being role models for the Black community. Read on for excerpts from the interview.
Mrs. Michelle Obama on what being First Lady means to her:
“It’s an honor and a privilege when you walk into the White House-at least I automatically felt a level of obligation. This is a big responsibility, a wonderful platform and I just want to make sure I take every advantage to serve as a role model, to provide good messages, to be a supportive mate to the President and to make sure that my girls are solid.”
Mrs. Marian Robinson on seeing her daughter step into this historic role:
“Well, to me, it’s overwhelming. I never doubted that she could do this. She is doing it with such grace and dignity. So I am just proud. I just hope she does what she wants to do. [Chuckles] Because the things that she wants to do are very important. They mean a lot to her.”
Mrs. Michelle Obama on finding balance:
“Unlike most women, I have a lot of resources: I have my mother living with me. The White House has a staff of people who are there to make my life easy. I don’t have a full-time job, although I work very hard in the role of First Lady. But I have a lot of resources. So I have been able to achieve the balance because I have the support I need.”
Mrs. Robinson on what her late husband, Fraser Robinson III, would say about this moment:
“You would not be able to shut him up! He would not be able to stand this. He would be beaming until you would just want him to stop talking. He bragged about Michelle and her brother, Craig, before they had even done anything. He always encouraged them, and when he talked about Craig and Michelle, you could just see a smile on his face whether it was there or not. He just enjoyed these two people.” More . . .
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Picture Credit: Timothy White and Stockland Martel
High-Powered and Low-Key: Obama Adviser Valerie Jarrett
A Profile of Obama Adviser, Valerie Jarrett. See below for additional articles on her.
High-Powered and Low Key
Washington Observes the Influence of Obama Adviser Valerie Jarrett
Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post
The nation’s mayors felt left out in the weeks after President Obama’s election. He had met with the governors, but not them. Then, to their surprise, he picked a non-mayor to head his new office of urban affairs. The unhappiness only grew as the president’s economic stimulus package promised to funnel billions of dollars directly into the coffers of states, leaving mayors wondering about their role.
As the frustration mounted, some began grumbling about their White House contact, Valerie Jarrett. “They were starting to get the sense, starting to comment that maybe Valerie Jarrett isn’t the person to bring their concerns to the highest level of the White House,” said Michael Strautmanis, Jarrett’s chief of staff.
They soon learned otherwise.
Before long, Jarrett hosted a forum for more than 80 mayors in the White House East Room, where she moderated a discussion with five Cabinet secretaries who explained how the stimulus plan would help cities. The event last month was capped by remarks from both the vice president and the president. Spotting a once-skeptical mayor after the session, Strautmanis could not resist flicking a little jab. “What do you think of Valerie Jarrett now?” he asked.
Jarrett, 52, serves as senior adviser to the president, and she oversees the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs. She is the principal contact for groups wanting to reach the White House, a stated focus of an administration that prides itself on transparency and outreach to an unprecedented array of grass-roots organizations. Jarrett and her staff have organized meetings and events that bring 450 people a week to the White House. She also recommends and interviews people for top jobs in the administration, is a daily presence in the president’s senior staff meetings, and is someone Obama often calls on for a reality check.
But Jarrett’s array of titles and duties fail to convey the breadth of her influence, which is rooted in a long relationship built on a foundation of trust with the Obamas. More . . .
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More articles on Valerie Jarrett:
Exclusive White House Interview: Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett (Essence)
The New Team: Valerie Jarrett (New York Times)
And to find out who else is in Obama’s Cabinet, click below. The list includes official appointments and names being floated for key posts.:
Obama’s Cabinet (The Hill.com)
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Picture Credit: New York Times, Jerry Lai – Associated Press
Capital Cool: Members of The White House Staff Illustrate the New Rules for Dress in the Workplace
Illustrating the new rules on how to dress for work.
Capital Cool - Members of The White House Staff Illustrate the New Rules for Fashion in the Workplace (Click image to see Slideshow)
Taking a cue from Michelle Obama, Joe Zee redefines women’s fashion role in the workplace.
Joe Zee, Elle
A lawyer friend recently remarked over dinner that her office desperately needed my help. It was full of smart, accomplished women, but they just couldn’t get their clothes right. Look at Michelle Obama, she continued, who, when she was an associate at a Chicago law firm, didn’t trade her style for credibility. She’s certain Michelle was the picture of chic, elegance, and authority. (And hell, she landed her husband at that firm!) My friend had a point: Why have working women put style on the back burner?
As her profile has risen, Michelle has in some ways become a reluctant style hero at the same time that she’s ushered in a new era in political fashion. She’s the ultimate career mom who, balancing success with family in Jimmy Choos and J.Crew, raised the workplace fashion stakes. Will the messages of style hope and sartorial change reach the young women who will now be working at the White House? My next challenge!
Two days after the inauguration, I headed to DC to style seven of the smart, successful—and let it be said, beautiful—women from this new administration and, in doing so, illustrate the new rules for how to dress for work. DC has long been in a style recession. My No. 1 rule? Break all the rules—which is why I dubbed them “The No-Hose Administration.”
From what I’ve seen over the years, getting it right at the office can be tough. It’s a daily high-pressure game: You want to appear authoritative and professional but not look like a career drone. Employee handbooks may highlight terms like business casual and corporate attire, but what does it all mean? How do you start to decipher these complex codes that can ultimately get us hired, fired, promoted, or just plain noticed? April being our Work Issue, I am offering my own get-ahead guide to How to Look Good and Still Succeed in Business. More . . .
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Picture Credit: Elle Magazine
Michelle Obama’s Agenda Includes Healthful Eating
Michelle Obama is a champion of healthy eating in her home. Here’s what she has planned for the nation.
Rachel L. Swarns, The New York Times
“The television cameras were rolling, the journalists were scribbling and the first lady, Michelle Obama, was standing in a soup kitchen rhapsodizing about steamed broccoli. And homemade mushroom risotto. And freshly baked apple-carrot muffins.
Mrs. Obama was praising the menu last week at Miriam’s Kitchen, a nonprofit drop-in center serving this city’s homeless. And she seized the moment to urge Americans to provide fresh, unprocessed and locally grown foods to their families and to the neediest in their communities.
“You know, we want to make sure our guests here and across the nation are eating nutritious items,” said Mrs. Obama, who served lunch to several homeless men and women and delivered eight cases of fresh fruit to the soup kitchen, all donated by White House employees.
“Collect some fruits and vegetables; bring by some good healthy food,” she said. “We can provide this kind of healthy food for communities across the country, and we can do it by each of us lending a hand.”
In her first weeks in the White House, Mrs. Obama has emerged as a champion of healthy food and healthy living. She has praised community vegetable gardens, opened up her own kitchen to show off the White House chefs’ prowess with vegetables and told stories about feeding less fattening foods to her daughters.” More . . .
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Picture Credit: The New York Times
Michelle Obama’s Sleevegate: Why America Can’t Handle Her Bare Arms
Saw this over at The Huffington Post. It’s written by Bonnie Fuller, Founder Bonnie Fuller Media. The key question is this: Why do people care if Michelle Obama goes sleeveless?
Click through the link at the end of the article and check out the pix of Jackie O in her sleeveless outfits.
“Is Michelle Obama supposed to wear a burka? Since when are a woman’s arms considered an erogenous zone here in America? Why would it be inappropriate for the First Lady to attend her husband’s address to Congress in a beautiful, purple Narcisco Rodriguez SLEEVELESS dress?
Whoever those twitterers — or should I call them “twits” — are out there who have raised the question of propriety, they should not only get a life, but also a history book. Not only have many First Ladies been photographed at official state and White House events, America’s most fashionable previous First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy practically made sleeveless looks her uniform, whether they were dresses or two piece shirt and skirt ensembles. ” More . . .
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About Us
Brusque is a digital newspaper that focuses on women who rock.
Here we celebrate the excellence of women and examine the issues that we face as we try to move the universe forward. Our primary focus will be on women in business. More specifically, we will focus on women as corporate leaders, and women as entrepreneurs.
The primary focus on business is because that is what we know best. (Go Blue!!!)
But as you (and we) know, women are advancing in many fields (sports, law, medicine, politics, science, etc.), so we will highlight the ascent, the successes and the key issues that pertain to women in other areas as well.
We will also focus on presenting articles that highlight issues pertaining to women in the workplace and work-life-balance.
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