Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide - full text available

Politico.com ^ | 2/22/2008 | Jeffrey Ressner

[GVnana]

Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide

By: Jeffrey Ressner
Feb 22, 2008 04:20 PM EST
Updated: February 22, 2008 08:07 PM EST

Michelle Obama's senior year thesis at Princeton University, obtained from the campaign by Politico, shows a document written by a young woman grappling with a society in which a black Princeton alumnus might only be allowed to remain "on the periphery." Read the full thesis here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

"My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'blackness' than ever before," the future Mrs. Obama wrote in her thesis introduction. "I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong. Regardless of the circumstances underwhich I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be black first and a student second."

The thesis, titled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community" and written under her maiden name, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, in 1985, has been the subject of much conjecture on the blogosphere and elsewhere in recent weeks, as it has been "temporarily withdrawn" from Princeton's library until after this year's presidential election in November. Some of the material has been written about previously, however, including a story last year in the Newark Star Ledger.

Obama writes that the path she chose by attending Princeton would likely lead to her "further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant."

[GVnana]

Gawd! It’s WORSE than African-American studies. It was the dept of sociology! No wonder!

That was my first reaction! Check out my post #79. Sociology is very IN with the Dems this year.

[Gondring]

Welcome to Free Republic.

[sageb1]

Sorry. I read it the wrong way. I read it like this, instead of the way you wrote it. My fault.

“Has she progressed past that mindset since her college days? And from what I’ve seen so far, the answer appears to be Yes.”

This part “Is she espousing the same notions today” didn’t register for some reason.

[GVnana]

Majored in Women’s studies? If not, my money is on Diversity training.

Sociology with a minor in African studies.

[Gondring]

But as your post pointed out, the real question is: Has she progressed past that mindset since her college days? Is she espousing the same notions today?

Uh, that's two questions.

And from what I’ve seen so far, the answer appears to be Yes.

Which one are you answering? The "one question" or the extra one? Or both (perhaps she's moved beyond the mindset yet is still espousing it publicly)?

[rfreedom4u]

But remember you can’t grade minorities on the same scale as others. That would be discrimination.

[Gondring]

I think that Princeton didn’t want it released for fear it would reveal such abysmal academic standards.

[GVnana]

AIM recently disclosed that Obama has well-documented socialist connections, which help explain why he sponsored a “Global Poverty Act” designed to send hundreds of billions of dollars of U.S. foreign aid to the rest of the world, in order to meet U.N. demands. The bill has passed the House and a Senate committee, and awaits full Senate action.

Lord help us if these idiots have their way. Obama and Pelosi. What a twosome.

Hold onto that article. You're going to need it.

[societygirl]

She’s just a loser, and blames her race for it. Did it ever occur to her that whites didn’t like her because of her attitude, or behavior?

[GVnana]

That was George Harrison's song, but point taken.

I'll go take my ginkgo now...

[Gondring]

This is college level work?

Princeton, no less.

[societygirl]

Or in her case woman. Black women tend to LOATHE white women, and think they get all the breaks. Poor, Michelle....not.

[Gondring]

See also
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1974995/posts

[societygirl]

Unfortunately most blacks tend to sit around all day, thinking about race. I don’t know any other group that does this. Most of the rest of us are too busy working and taking care of our families. The conversation of black females is quite telling. They sit around whining about how awful things are, and how they are “discriminated” against. In between howls about how some guy tried to “F’ them, and the rest of the talk is about violence. Constant yammering about “slappin’ her face, kicking some “MFer,” “F” this, “F” that.

[societygirl]

And EVERYBODY at those cocktail parties, LAUGHS AT HER BEHIIND HER BACK.

[GVnana]

Ok,,,Then do away with “legacy” admissions which highly favor whites

Not comparable. I don't have strong feelings on legacy admissions one way or the other, BUT they do have a high graduate success rate, and establishing a family tradition of attendance is good for the institution.

The class warfare nonsense about legacies reached its apex with the idea that GWB is an idiot who only entered Yale as a legacy. He may have entered Yale as a legacy, but he didn't get a Harvard MBA as one -- something the "Bush is an idiot" crowd conveniently ignore.

If Ivy League attendance is based solely on money and family connections, why couldn't JFK Jr. get into Harvard? Hmmm?

[RepublitarianRoger2]

Uh, that's two questions.

Uh, no it's not! It's just two ways of stating the same question. Follow the logic. If her mindset has not progressed past her college days, then she would be espousing the same notions today.

[Gondring]

So, you think the answer is “yes” that she’s progressed beyond that mindset, eh?

[wintertime]

I think that Princeton didn’t want it released for fear it would reveal such abysmal academic standards.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I wouldn’t pay a dime for any of my kids to go to an Ivy League college or university.

This week my husband and I reviewed, with our attorney, an an Educational Trust that we are creating for our descendants. One of the provisions of the Trust is that no money be allocated for any expenses related to attending an Ivy League college or universities.

[RepublitarianRoger2]

What? WTF are you trying to get at? Can’t you follow the simple logic here?

I am saying that from what I have seen of Michelle Obama so far, she has not progressed past the mindset that pervades her college thesis, and THEREFORE is still espousing those ideas.