Co-founder, University of Buffalo's Uncrowned Queens Institute
Co-founder of the Uncrowned Queens Institute at the University at Buffalo, and co-author of Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First LadyPROFILE
Barbara Seals Nevergold
Guest
FROM Barbara Seals Nevergold
To the Point
Michelle Obama and the Power of America's First Lady White House historians say first ladies are windows into America's cultural and social ideas, and while it's subtle, they have enormous power. Mamie Eisenhower gave parties and kept her mouth shut. Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan embodied high fashion. Hillary Clinton was a liberated woman who botched healthcare reform. Laura Bush advocated literacy in a much quieter way. As the first African-American spouse in the White House, Michelle Obama 's unique. But her style and persona make her novel in other ways. Beneath her remarkable round of activities, is there a message? What about the bare arms and the vegetable garden?
To the Point
From King to Obama: America Receives It’s First Black President Barack Obama declared that Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday should be a day of service and today, with the First-Lady-to-be, he surprised a group of volunteers in Washington, DC sending cards, letters and packages to troops serving overseas. Barack and Michelle Obama then circulated through a crowd of very excited people, shaking hands and getting their pictures taken. There is, of course, heavy symbolism in the coincidence of Dr. King’s birthday falling on the day before the inauguration of America’s first African American president.
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To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
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Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.