First Lady Michelle Obama talks with Washington, D.C., area high school students who attended the Teen Design Fair, in the Red Room of the White House prior to the Cooper-Hewitt Design Awards luncheon, Sept. 13, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
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Was it racism or politics that led Wisconsin Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner to lampoon the backside of first lady Michelle Obama?

In a column published today on WashingtonPost.com, Charlotte freelance writer Mary C. Curtis asked a pointed question: Can you imagine how the incident would play out if an African American congressman made a crude remark about First Lady Laura Bush’s body?

You might recall that in late December Sensenbrenner was overheard in at the Delta Crown lounge at Reagan National Airport criticizing Obama’s eat-healthy initiative: “She lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself,” he was quoted as saying.

Curtis found plenty to hate about Sensenbrenner’s remarks, but some of her harshest remarks were reserved for what she perceived to be the racial aspect of the incident.

Not only is this disrespect crude, it also proves yet again that you can’t go wrong disrespecting a black woman in the United States of America, even if she lives in the White House – and in some constituencies, especially if she lives in the White House. Sensenbrenner’s nasty rant made me sick and sad because it brings to the surface the ugly history of how black women are viewed in America, stereotyped and dehumanized, our bodies everyone’s business except our own.

What in the world is Sensenbrenner doing staring at the First Lady -- not as a person but as a specimen, each part an item on an anatomical checklist? He doesn’t approve of what he’s seeing but he can’t keep his eyes off of her. It’s creepy but unfortunately familiar, the way he devalues black beauty while being mesmerized by it.

Sensenbrenner, meanwhile, has stuck by the gist of his criticism but said he would contact the first lady to apologize for any inappropriate reference.

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