Here We Go...

This is probably the beginning of the black backlash. This one is, to me, ridiculous.
Black fashion designers are upset Michelle Obama didn't chose a black designer for any of her gowns. C'mon. I don't see Ozwald Boateng jumping all over President Obama for not wearing any of his designs. If he did, he would be the best dressed President in the history of the United States. He is my favorite designer, but I'm a English haberdasher whore, but I digress.

I saw this in the NPR News and Notes blog. The response from the Michelle Obama Watch blog is this:



Folks I could write about 15,000 words about this story from Women’s Wear Daily, but I won’t because sometimes Chicanery and Foolishness speaks for itself.

The Black Artists Association is taking her to task for not wearing anything by an African American designer. Cofounder Amnau Eele said Wednesday she will make a formal appeal to the First Lady’s office on behalf of the BAA. “It’s fine and good if you want to be all ‘Kumbaya’ and ‘We Are the World’ by representing all different countries. But if you are going to have Isabel Toledo do the inauguration dress, and Jason Wu do the evening gown, why not have Kevan Hall, B Michael, Stephen Burrows or any of the other black designers do something too?” Eele said.

Then Women’s Wear Daily threw in the kicker:

Asked if perhaps the First Lady isn’t looking at the world colorlessly, Eele said, “It’s one thing to look at the world without color but she had seven slots to wear designer clothes. Why wasn’t she wearing the clothes of a black designer? That was our moment.”

Funny. I thought it was HER moment after sacrificing her life and the lives of her children to allow her husband to run for and win the White House. I listened to the inagural speeches and did not hear anything about the INAUGURATION being a moment for Black fashion designers. I’m going to stop right there, but just let that marinate for a moment. “That was OUR moment!” They sound like they are a group of easy to work with people


This reminds me of the dust-up with Tavis Smiley because President Obama had the audacity to skip Tavis Smiley's State of the Black Union in because President Obama concentrated on campaigning before the big March 4th primaries (Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont)in 2008. Michelle Obama was not good enough for Tavis. We must keep our eye on the bigger picture and understand the first couple represent all of America, not just Black America and save our concern for real problems.