Griffin At Last Summary

Some individuals who are eager to put race in the past have proclaim that America possesses a “post-racial” time, which Griffin describes as a time that individuals believe race is no longer constricting and “for which we have little use” (Griffin 132). Farah Jasmine Griffin, in “At Last …?: Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Race & History”, argues that First Lady Michelle Obama and Beyoncé Knowles show evidence of transformation for race relations in America, while exhibiting the reality that racial inequality is still alive and well throughout the nation. By understanding the experiences and background of race relations, Griffin allows readers to comprehend how these two impressive black women use their history to increase or decrease their popular
Throughout the article, Griffin explains how Beyoncé’s predecessors had hardships that she was immune because they “carved a place for her in American popular culture” (Griffin 138). Because of this, Beyoncé was able to rise to stardom without the same criticism of those before her. While the author went into detail about the history of black women in the 1800’s, although it correlated with Beyoncé’s advertisements and not herself. Griffin could have included a third woman to discuss issues such as these or possibly left out this aspect. Additionally, the article says that Beyoncé belongs to a group of mixed race, light-skinned and beautiful women and these women are often not discriminated to the same extent and have more opportunities. While Beyoncé herself did not come from poverty and does belong to this group, it is unjust to say that all mixed race, light-skinned and beautiful women have the same advantages that she does. There was no evidence that Beyoncé suffered through the hardships of racism but the author made this a focus when talking about Michelle