Chimamanda Adichie: If Michelle Obama Wore Natural Hair, The President Would Have Lost in 2008

In an Aug. 9 interview with Britain’s Channel 4 News, Nigerian-American author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says that Michelle Obama could not get away with natural hair because of the negative stereotypes associated with it.

In the clip from the 30-minute interview, the 38-year-old says that the first lady’s natural hair would prevent Sen. Barack Obama from being elected president in 2008.

“I’ve often said that if Michelle Obama had natural hair when Barack Obama was running for president, he would not have won,” Adichie explains. “Because her natural hair would have signified certain things to people. It would signify that she’s some sort of militant, neo- Black Panther, frightening …”

 

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