Putting the Obamas in the White House also lifts up a new female role model for Black women: Michelle Obama. Michelle isn’t from a family with loot and wasn’t raised to land herself a rich man. She went to a fine college and has a wonderful education, but she earned her degrees the hard way, and she and her husband have only recently paid off their student loans. She’s a simple woman who has made a way for herself and her family through hard work and determination—nothing was inherited or handed to her. Michelle Obama’s background not only mirrors that of a lot of Black America, but of America in total. By setting down a high-charged career for motherhood, she seems counter to the feminist model of the successful woman. And in an era where the music video hoochie has risen to acclaim, Michelle is showing young women that you can get everything AND still keep your dignity. Michelle has put family first, and this, to many, signals a new day for the Black family. Maybe the Obamas can teach all of us, not just Black Americans, about the importance of family structure.

What can Michelle Obama teach young girls of all colors? Tell us here.

Images courtesy of dallassouthblog.com.

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In the midst of our failing economy, not only is homeownership in danger of evaporating, but the American dream of a college education is in danger too. You and I know that working your way through college is a romantic dream—you can’t really get a job that pays like that, and how in the world do you work and go to school full-time? So most of us loaned-up to get our education, and we still live with that debt. Once easy to obtain, college loans are smaller and harder to get. A few thousand collars can be the difference between staying in school and having to drop out. President-elect Barack Obama talked about a plan to make college accessible and affordable, but what would that plan look like? Should college be free, like it is elsewhere in the world?  Given that education is the key to a solid future and social ascension, should a college education be a civil right of sorts? Obama has his hands full now trying to stop America from free-falling into the canyon of no return. But educating our children will make this economy stronger too, so this issue will cross his desk probably sooner than later. What do you think?

How should Obama deal with the cost of higher education so that everyone can have a shot?