Storm in a Teacup, Much Ado About Nothing

We all remember Michelle Obama's fist bump, fist dap, or terrorist fist bump that seemed to land her husband, then presidential candidate Barack Obama, in hot water, especially at the FoxNews network.

Well, something of the sort almost happened again, but this time not to candidate Obama but to President Obama.

It seems that his wife, the First Lady, did the unthinkable, she placed her arms around the Queen, a faux pas of considerable magnitude that usually brings the offender a censure to equal the gravity of slighting Royalty.

"Touching the monarch is usually off limits, but as the first lady and the Queen cosied up at Buckingham Palace, were we witnessing a softening of royal protocol?

"Whoever briefed Michelle Obama on the things one does and doesn't do with one's hands when one meets the Queen must be wondering what went wrong.

"Within minutes of their first encounter at Buckingham Palace yesterday, America's first lady broke royal protocol by doing the unthinkable: she gave the Queen a hug. The monarch, for her part, responded with equally flagrant disregard for convention by returning the gesture.

"Proceedings had begun innocuously enough following the Obamas' arrival at the palace - polite handshakes, a curtsey and chit chat with the Duke of Edinburgh, who asked the president how he'd managed to stay awake all day.

"Then, at the "getting to know you drink", there was an exchange of dialogue between Michelle Obama and the Queen (they seemed to compliment each other on their shoes). At this stage, with everything going so swimmingly, the first lady put her arm around the Queen. The monarch appeared awkward at first, but after this initial surprise and hesitation, she seemed to respond positively by putting her arm round Obama's waist.

"So it was not quite a major diplomatic incident. And does it reflect a softening of the royal protocol that forbids physical contact with the Queen beyond handshakes? The Queen is widely regarded as formal but close observers point out that a number of traditional rules for dealing with the monarch have been relaxed in recent times. Bowing, for example, is no longer required.

"Nor is Michelle Obama the first person to have initiated physical contact with Elizabeth without ending up in the Tower. At least four people are known to have broken this rule, the first being Alice Frazier, who hugged the Queen in Washington in 1991 during her 13-day US visit.

"The second was Paul Keating, the then prime minister of Australia, dubbed the "Lizard of Oz" by the British tabloids after he was photographed with his arm around her in 1992. The third was John Howard, Keating's successor in 2000 (though he subsequently denied there had been any contact), and the fourth was the Canadian cyclist Louis Garneau in 2002.

"Despite the outrage in some quarters, the Queen appeared to take no offence at their actions. Keating stayed as the Queen's guest in her private Balmoral home."

It seems that reporters misread the moment, and attributed to the First Lady a conduct that never happened.

According to witnesses that were near by, it was the Queen that actually initiated the hug, placing her arm around Mrs. Obama as she remarked playfully about the First Lady's height, adding the gesture of a hug to support her remarks.

The First Lady responded by placing her arms around the Queen. The embrace seemed spontaneous, and it was just as brief as it was spontaneous.

But it quickly became the hug that embraced the circumference of the world, printed up in newspapers, and seen on millions of television sets.

On slow news days, and a zealousness to put the Obamas' in their place, this is the kind of story that leads.

Surely the British, as a people, were not offended en masse by this brief show of affection and getting-alongness. No Monarch, Queen, King, Prince, or Princess, should be above receiving a hug from a commoner, even one that happens to be the first African American First Lady of the United States.

I'm sure they, as well as the Queen, were honored that the two struck this friendly cord so early, clearly reestablishing the fine relationship that both nations have enjoyed over the years.

I hear that the Queen was so taken with Mrs. Obama that she asked her to stay in touch. You see, Queens are people, too. They want friends as much as the next person. And it must get pretty lonely within the walls of Buckingham Palace, so it's nice from time to time to step out of the shadows of pomp and ceremony and just be yourself.

Also during the visit, Michelle Obama visited a predominately black all-girl school were she gave a "pep talk" to the student body after she was entertained with song from the school choir.

She told them about her humble beginnings, the unexpected path that her life has taken, and the value of education in making it all happen. She encouraged the young students to dream big, that the world needed their contributions.

The First Lady was clearly touched by an outpouring of affection from the students, many of whom received hugs from her. "She touched me! She hugged me!," several young girls exclaimed, visibly and emotionally shaken by the encounter, some with tear-stained cheeks.

We often talk about the impact that President Obama will have on blacks around the world, from Brazil to Nigeria. Little did we know that his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, may have an impact as great, if not greater than, his.

She will encourage, inspire, and empower young black girls and women around the world to cast off the shackles of low expectations, and the presumption of low achievements, with a can-do spirit that will bring to their respective countries--generation after generation--a wellspring of smart, intelligent, and capable leaders, leaders that will compete as equals with their male counterparts, taking their rightful place alongside the best of them.

The One-Drop Rule

On his pre-inaugural visit to Ben’s Chili Bowl, a landmark for Washington’s African-American community, President Barack Obama was asked by a cashier if he wanted his change back.

“Nah, we straight,” Obama replied.

The phrase was so subtle some listeners missed it. The reporter on pool duty quoted Obama as saying, “No, we’re straight.”

But many other listeners did not miss it. A video of the exchange became an Internet hit, and there was a clear moment of recognition among many blacks, who got a kick out of their Harvard-educated president sounding, as one commenter wrote on a hip-hop site, “mad cool.”

On matters of racial identity, many observers in the African-American community say he benefits from what's known as “dog-whistle politics." His language, mannerisms and symbols resonate deeply with his black supporters, even as the references largely sail over the heads of white audiences.

This is part of the reason that as a candidate, Obama won intense support among African-Americans while never being branded, in the fashion of a Jesse Jackson, as a candidate defined by race.

There's a language spoken among black folks that transcends words, inflections, cadence, or what have you. Blacks can hide their intentions, and their meaning from whites, but when it comes to those of their own race, there's no tree big enough to hide behind.

Perhaps this phenomenon has a white correlation, but I just don't think it's as developed, or as fine-tuned as among blacks.

For most of us, we have spent a lifetime studying whites, their mannerisms, their facial expressions, the manner in which they speak, for any hint of racism or hostility.

Survival dictated that we do this, and it spelled the difference between getting our butt kicked, or worse, lynched, or getting fired, or arrested for shoplifting, when all we wanted to do was challenge the boss' decision, or purchase a pair of Levis.

So when it comes to our new president, when he speaks, no matter how eloquently, how persuasive, how grammatically precise or erudite, we hear ourselves.

When he walks across the White House lawn or through the halls of Congress, strolling with that familiar black gait, with that familiar swagger, we see ourselves walking.

The "one-drop rule" used to carry the day, and no matter how much white there was genetically to offset it, it didn't matter--you were still considered black.

I'm beginning to think that something like that still prevails, but in a different way. One drop of black blood can "color," pun intended, a person's behavior, attitude, and mindset, their biracialism notwithstanding.

And that seems to hold up well, unless of course, you, as a black, make a herculean effort to suppress, misdirect, and eradicate these natural black tendencies.

And many do. I won't call out any names here. We all know who they are. And their names don't rhyme with heel or llamas.

Okay, I know I've taken a rather controversial stand here, but I do think there's something to it.

Obama's wears his blackness (not color) well, it accessorizes his Harvard suit, and playfully peeks from behind his King's English. It's like wearing a white tux with a black cumberbon, shoes, and bow tie.

There's contrast, but not so much that it brings mouth-dropping attention, or appears sartorially inappropriate.

While whites are checking out Obama's spotless white tux, we blacks are nodding our head, and checking out the black shoes, and bow tie, thinking to ourselves, "Sh*t, that brother's looking good! He makes those shoes, cumberbon and tie look damn good!"