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Canada's leading (black) lady
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Canada's Governor General greets President Obama upon his arrival there last Frebruary.
During President Obama's recent trip to Europe, the American press spent considerable time and energy pointing out the almost fairy-tale nature of the First Couple's session with the Queen of England.
Everywhere they go, ample space is often reserved to recount and reflect on the "significance" of the blackness of the Obamas. By contrast, the press barely spent a sentence on what may have been an equally significant event, earlier this year.
A month after being sworn in, Mr. Obama's first official trip abroad was a mid-February meet-and-greet in Canada. There to welcome him at the airport was the Governor General of Canada, the Queen of England's official representative of the kingdom. While her role is mostly ceremonial (much like the Queen's), Michealle Jean commands the title "Her Excellency" in Canada. You may have noticed, she is also a black woman.
Michealle Jean was taken from her native Haiti by her father, in a successful effort to escape the notoriously brutal regime of Francois "Poppa Doc" Duvalier. When the family settled in Quebec Province (which includes Montreal), she had found a new home. Once here term ends as Governor General of Canada, Ms. Jean will have earned the right to be addressed "The Right Honorable," for life.
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