Michelle Obama called "Ghetto Girl"

Earlier today when I read the above quote about First Lady Michelle Obama, I wasn't offended, a bit confused maybe. Largely I found myself curious about the mindset of the person quoted on a piece about The Obama's going to Martha's Vineyard for a summer vacation.

I went back and re-read the article in its entirety and a sense of sadness came over me for the "only ones" described in the article. The term refers to affluent black families who are often the only ones in their jobs, schools, and communities because of their level of achievement. Toure makes sure not to call these individuals assmilationists, instead he calls it their ascension, I think there's a bit of both in this "only one' business but that's another topic.

So, Michelle Obama is now considered a "ghetto girl"! Is this the same Michelle Obama who received her bachelors’ degree from Princeton University and law degree from Harvard? A counter to that argument would be the old saying that 'you can take the person out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of the person.' But what is ghetto? 

Being loud and boisterous, guzzling 40oz bottles of malt liquor. Not working and collecting welfare checks for your many children, born out of wedlock to numerous men. Living on section 8 and hiding your significant other when the State comes because only you and your children are supposed to live in said house. I mean, what is ghetto?

The way the term ghetto is loosely used here it seems as if it's based on mere geography. Michelle Obama was brought up on the South Side of Chicago as was Jennifer Hudson, true, so that alone makes them "ghetto girls"? It's this absurd type of thinking that continues to pervert the black community and further divide the haves and the have-nots. The term ghetto historically is a term used for the living quarters of Jewish people but has now morphed into a class structure for people of color. Those who have and those who don't, those who know how to act in public and those who don’t, those who are educated and those who are not.

 “If you’re too Southern Baptist, too dark-skinned, too street, you might not be insulted by a white person but you may be insulted by a black person,” 

It’s unfortunate that this type of thinking still pervades the thoughts of people of color. Such feelings show that the divisions created during slavery are still embedded in some African Americans. This feeling of superiority that some of the “only ones” hold over their fellow black Americans reminds me of the same feelings white supremacists held over all people of color. It’s ironic that blacks fought together for civil rights and now impose the same belittling tactics on their brothers and sisters who are less fortunate. 

Not all people who vacation at Martha’s Vineyard are the bourgeoisie, black high life described in the aforementioned article. My aunt and uncle own a vacation home at the Vineyard and will be extremely angry when they read this and see themselves and their friends being portrayed in this uppity, better than thou, elitist negro light. 

For the record Michelle Obama grew up in a two-parent household where her father got up and went to work every day despite his debilitating illness. Her mother ingrained a strong work ethic into Michelle and her older brother so that they would both be successful in their academic pursuits and professional lives.  The result is a proud black woman, who is an extraordinary person who has been educated at the finest institutions this country has to offer, a woman who has worked tirelessly to uplift her community and to hear President Obama tell it, one heck of a mother to her children. Not too shabby if I do say so myself and definitely not ghetto!