A Failed Date and An Ugly Reminder
When you're the First Lady of the United States, going out on a date with your husband isn't so easy.
Nevertheless, during the first term, Michelle and Barack tried to carve out a night for themselves.
It felt like ages since they'd been on a date, and the idea of dinner and a Broadway play seemed too amazing to pass up.
Sure, it might require some serious planning, but it would be worth it, right?
As it turned out, not so much.
The presidential motorcade brought New York traffic to a grinding halt, and people at both the restaurant and the theater had to go through security checks.
It wasn't just embarrassing; it opened the door to a parade of negative press.
While the family was getting used to life in the White House by the start of the second term, Michelle was still finding it hard to deal with some of the press that came their way.
In particular, she was upset with how media outlets were perpetuating ugly rumors about her husband.
They claimed he had lied about his birthplace and somehow faked his birth certificate as well as the Hawaiian newspaper clippings that announced his birth.
Aside from being hurtful, these allegations seemed to embolden dangerous people – people who made violent threats against Barack.
Such rumors had been around since 2008, but when they resurfaced in the winter of 2011, a gunman opened fire on the residential floor of the White House with a semiautomatic rifle.
It took months before repairs could be made, and during that time there remained a sizable dent on the bullet-proof window in Michelle's reading room.
That ugly bullet mark served as a stark reminder of why there were so many protocols and security procedures.
A year later, Michelle decided to make gun violence another of her initiatives.
Hadiya Pendleton was a 15-year-old girl who'd attended the January 2013 inauguration event.
Just days later, she became the thirty-sixth person that month to be killed by gun violence in Chicago.
After attending Hadiya's funeral, Michelle had her chief of staff coordinate with Chicago Mayor Raham Emanuel on helping at-risk kids in the city.
Michelle met with community leaders and through a collaboration of efforts they were able to raise $33 million dollars for youth programs in the city.
Michelle also invited students from Harper High School, located in Chicago's South Side, to visit the White House and tour Howard University.
Getting a hug from the First Lady isn't going to solve anyone's problems.
But she wanted to reassure these kids that being from the South Side doesn't mean your future is already written.
It was never easy bringing up kids in such a strange environment or exercising her own voice within Barack's agenda.
But looking back, Michelle is proud of what she was able to accomplish.
At the start, she still had that nagging voice that wondered if she was really good enough.
But once again, she was able to gain the confidence to say, “Yes, I am.”
However, Michelle still dislikes politics and has no urge to run for any office.
A Failed Date and An Ugly Reminder
When you're the First Lady of the United States, going out on a date with your husband isn't so easy.
Nevertheless, during the first term, Michelle and Barack tried to carve out a night for themselves.
It felt like ages since they'd been on a date, and the idea of dinner and a Broadway play seemed too amazing to pass up.
Sure, it might require some serious planning, but it would be worth it, right?
As it turned out, not so much.
The presidential motorcade brought New York traffic to a grinding halt, and people at both the restaurant and the theater had to go through security checks.
It wasn't just embarrassing; it opened the door to a parade of negative press.
While the family was getting used to life in the White House by the start of the second term, Michelle was still finding it hard to deal with some of the press that came their way.
In particular, she was upset with how media outlets were perpetuating ugly rumors about her husband.
They claimed he had lied about his birthplace and somehow faked his birth certificate as well as the Hawaiian newspaper clippings that announced his birth.
Aside from being hurtful, these allegations seemed to embolden dangerous people – people who made violent threats against Barack.
Such rumors had been around since 2008, but when they resurfaced in the winter of 2011, a gunman opened fire on the residential floor of the White House with a semiautomatic rifle.
It took months before repairs could be made, and during that time there remained a sizable dent on the bullet-proof window in Michelle's reading room.
That ugly bullet mark served as a stark reminder of why there were so many protocols and security procedures.
A year later, Michelle decided to make gun violence another of her initiatives.
Hadiya Pendleton was a 15-year-old girl who'd attended the January 2013 inauguration event.
Just days later, she became the thirty-sixth person that month to be killed by gun violence in Chicago.
After attending Hadiya's funeral, Michelle had her chief of staff coordinate with Chicago Mayor Raham Emanuel on helping at-risk kids in the city.
Michelle met with community leaders and through a collaboration of efforts they were able to raise $33 million dollars for youth programs in the city.
Michelle also invited students from Harper High School, located in Chicago's South Side, to visit the White House and tour Howard University.
Getting a hug from the First Lady isn't going to solve anyone's problems.
But she wanted to reassure these kids that being from the South Side doesn't mean your future is already written.
It was never easy bringing up kids in such a strange environment or exercising her own voice within Barack's agenda.
But looking back, Michelle is proud of what she was able to accomplish.
At the start, she still had that nagging voice that wondered if she was really good enough.
But once again, she was able to gain the confidence to say, “Yes, I am.”
However, Michelle still dislikes politics and has no urge to run for any office.
#AFailedDateandAnUgly