At the risk of appearing even more ignorant than usual

[senseandsensibility]

I have a question. So here goes....during Michelle Obama's speech at the opening of the Obama Center, I was in tears. I started an OP about how great the speech was. But there was one incident she described that totally threw me for a loop.

She was listing things that President Obama was attacked for and one of them was saying (paraphrased) that if he had a son he would be black too. Everyone in the crowd and all the commentators afterword seemed to understand and/or remember this.

I don't. I was an adult during both of Obama's terms and I don't remember any such "controversy", nor do I understand why that statement is controversial in any way. Help me out here.

[Ocelot II]

1. I think it was a reference to the shooting of Trayvon Martin -

"If I had a son he'd look like Trayvon."

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/19/remarks-PRESIDENT-TRAYVON-MARTIN

[godsentme]

3. I remember this well

Right wing pundits heads exploded over his comment.

[senseandsensibility]

5. Thanks

That did jog my memory. I get the context now. But I still don't understand why it was a controversial statement. Just goes to show how long Rs have been practicing fake outrage and how little they need to spur it. In this case, I will say they had nothing because I honestly still don't get what was objectionable about what he said.

[BComplex]

8. And it shows how long republicans have been 100% in control of media messaging

This is why we're in the mess we're in.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. I remember that also

[malaise]

14. Correct

Rec

[Xavier Breath]

2. Yes, I recall that.

I believe it was right after (yet another) unarmed, Black, male teen was shot by the police. The topic of how to talk to your Black teen son about interacting with the police was in the national conversation, so he made an innocuous comment pointing out that, and you better sit down for this, that he could have been the father of a Black son. Gasp!

RWNJ heads everywhere exploded, as you would expect them to.

[jls4561]

4. After Treyvon Martin was murdered, Obama remarked that Treyvon could have been his son, or his younger self.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/07/19/203660128/obama-trayvon-martin-could-have-been-me-35-years-ago

As to why people were outraged, I have not idea. Maybe because they felt that carrying a bag of Skittles justifies murder if you’re black.

Seems logical to Florida man.

[biophile]

6. It was part of his speech regarding "walking while black" - the talk black parents must have with their kids

Especially sons, about the dangers of living while non-white in our racist society. As noted in another response, it was after the Trayvon Martin killing, I think.

[wyn borkins]

9. From the Internet:

This (AI version) may be what you are referring to: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon." President Barack Obama made this comment in the WH Rose Garden in March 2012 following the tragic shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

The Backlash:
Critics accused the President of politicizing an active criminal investigation and pitting Americans against each other solely based on race. Some commentators argued that by making the statement so personal, he was preemptively taking sides before all the facts of the case and the self-defense claim were brought to trial.

Obama's Intent:
Obama noted that his comments were made from the perspective of a Black parent and a Black man. He explicitly stated that when he thought about the boy, he thought about his own children, and the remark was intended to highlight the universal fear all parents have about the safety of their kids.

[hamsterjill]

10. I finally got to watch her entire speech.

I cried through most of it, but I have got to say, it was one of the most inspiring twenty minutes I've spent in the last ten years, at least.

[senseandsensibility]

11. Yes, it was wonderful on so many levels.

The content was great of course. But the delivery, the way she makes it seem like she is speaking contemporaneously and from the heart, is unmatched. Truly awe inspiring. Remember when Melania tried to give a speech that many said was a copy of Michelle's?

[hamsterjill]

12. Who could forget the copy cat?

Michelle is, as you say, unmatched! Melania is a distant wanna be.

[betsuni]

13. About Trayvon Martin, many white people said: "I guess we'll never really know what happened."

"There are both sides to every story." Martin must have done something, they thought, it couldn't be what it in fact was. It made them defensive. Obama was playing the "race card" and inflaming racial tensions, right-wing media said.