Former first lady Michelle Obama has revealed why she waited until she was out of the White House to wear her hair in braids.
At the first stop of her nationwide book tour, Obama said Tuesday (November 15) that she decided to keep her hair straight as the country was “just getting adjusted” to having a Black family in the White House when her husband was elected in 2012, The Hill reports.
“They tripped out when Barack wore a tan suit,” Obama quipped as she promoted her new book “The Light We Carry” at the Warner Theatre in Washington.“The great indignity, the scandal of the Obama administration.”
Obama then reenacted what she imagined the reaction would be if she would’ve worn braids while in the White House.
“Remember when she wore braids? Those are terrorist braids! Those are revolutionary braids!”
“Let me keep my hair straight,” Obama continued. “Let’s get health care passed.”
Obama said she would sometimes jokingly rile her team up by mentioning she wanted to change her look.
“I would get my staff all worried, too. I was like, ‘I was thinking about getting braids,’” “The Light We Carry” author said.
She addressed the dilemma that many Black women face in the workplace.
“The code of ethics at a workplace, as Black women we deal with it, the whole thing about do you show up with your natural hair?” Obama said.
Now, nearly six years after the end of her husband’s presidential term, Obama showed off her braids at the kickoff of her book tour, which was moderated by Ellen Degeneres.
“Braids, yall!” Obama said Tuesday to applause from the crowd.
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