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 the new book Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First LadyPROFILE
Peggy Brooks-Bertram
Guest
FROM Peggy Brooks-Bertram
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
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
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.
To the Point
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.