TheLoop21.com

By: crystal (follow this member)
Thu, 05/14/2009 - 00:00

The Obamas just might change the face of the American presidency by fulfilling their promise to "open up the White House and remind people this is the people's house."

First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the White House's first ever poetry jam Tuesday. Guests included James Earl Jones, Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldeman, Jazz pianist ELEW, poet Mayda Del Valle and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda.

"I think that our art and our culture, our science, you know, that's the essence of what makes America special, and, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House," President Barack Obama said on NBC's Meet the Press in December, before taking office.

It's interesting that in the face of so much economic turmoil, President Obama is still calm, cool and collected and still fulfilling promises he made during his campaign. Remaining committed to our strengths is what might pull us as a nation out of this trouble.

But beyond that, a poetry jam in the White House is just cool.

The first lady said the event is something she'd been aching to do since the very begining and encouraged the guests to, "enjoy, have fun and be loose." When has being loose ever been encouraged at the White House?

To be fair, former first lady Laura Bush had planned a poetry symposium in 2003, but it had to be cancelled once they discovered guests would be protesting the war in Iraq.

This whole idea of opening up the White House is rather ingenious, not because they're black and hosting a multi-ethnic array of artists, but because they display a real sense of humanity and accessibility.

Oliver Willis called the event a "First Lady Moment of Zen."

The Black Snob said it best: "It was yet another 'hipper than thou' moment in White House history that either left you dazzled or left the Stuffy McStuffingtons bewildered and confused."

I'm sure the GOP is completely dumbfounded. The first family has put the naysayers between a rock and a hard place on this one. Say anything to criticize the event, and you're seen as someone who doesn't appreciate culture.

After all, it was a cultural event hosted by the first lady. The President of the United States just happened to be there.

Crystal P. Smith is TheLoop21.com's editor. She writes the Inside the Loop and Across the Afrosphere blogs.