Michelle Obama Is EBONY’s Power 100 Cover Star

Michelle Obama, a 2018 EBONY Power 100 Entertainment & Arts honoree, is the cover star of the Dec. 2018/Jan. 2019 Power 100 issue. In the accompanying feature article, our Forever First Lady shared her thoughts on what makes Black women magical and spoke about her new memoir, Becoming.

In her book, Mrs. Obama discusses the liberating nature of her post-White House experience and how being a Black girl growing up on the South Side of Chicago helped her even when it may have caused some struggle. She shared her opinion on the weight of the Black-woman-as-savior trope with the publication.

“As for why the world sometimes looks to Black women—and I have to say that I wish the world turned to Black women more often than it does—I think it’s because we’ve got a perspective all our own,” the former first lady told EBONY. “If you’re growing up Black and female, you can’t help but really learn what’s going on down on the ground. You’re going to see a lot of the bottoms of people’s shoes coming down on you, so you learn to be nimble and resourceful.”

Mrs. Obama said the treatment of Black women leads them to be more grateful for what they have and be more optimistic about change. Living as an overlooked group compels Black women to be more sympathetic to the struggles of others.

“The trick is we need more people who are willing to listen to Black women, especially young Black women, to lift up our voices rather than shutting us out,” she added.

Celebrities including her husband, former President Barack Obama, actress Tracee Ellis Ross and media mogul Oprah Winfrey have promoted the new biographical work.

“You’ve shown us that there’s not just ONE thing we can be when we “grow up”. We’ve never fully arrived…we’re always evolving, always BECOMING,” Winfrey wrote about their sit-down interview on OWN.

“Of course, @MichelleObama‘s my wife, so I’m a little biased here,” the former president wrote. “But she also happens to be brilliant, funny, wise – one of a kind. This book tells her quintessentially American story. I love it because it faithfully reflects the woman I have loved for so long.”

“Thank you @michelleobama for being a lighthouse and for always starting such good conversation,” Ross said about the discussion of continually evolving.

Becoming is on sale now.

Check out Inside EBONY for a sneak peek into the current issue. Get the Dec. 2018/Jan. 2019 issue, in which the former FLOTUS discusses being a student at Princeton University, the Black Lives Matter movement and why she’s proud of her “When they go low, we go High” motto, on newsstands Nov. 27.