The Major Fashion Change Michelle Obama Made For Staff In The White House
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, he and Michelle Obama became the first Black president and first lady, and Michelle knew that came with a lot of responsibility and a lot of attention. Along with launching a number of initiatives as first lady, Michelle was also working as a mother, and she decided to request a change to the butler dress code because of her daughters — Sasha and Malia, who were seven and ten respectively when they moved into the White House as a part of the first family.
In the 2020 Netflix documentary "Becoming," which is all about Michelle as she goes on her book tour for her memoir of the same name, she reveals that on a visit with Laura Bush before the Obamas were to move into the White House, she noticed that the White House butlers were "fully dressed in tuxedos, most of them African-American or Latino older men." For Michelle, she didn't want her girls to grow up around that.
Michelle Obama wanted to keep her girls grounded in the White House
Michelle Obama explained in the Netflix documentary "Becoming" that it was important for her to make living in the White House seem as normal as possible. "How do I make this mansion with butlers and staff feel like a home for two little girls? I didn't want them to grow up thinking that grown African-American men serve them in tuxedos."
She gave the example of just how odd it would be for her girls to have friends over while there were tuxedo-ed butlers there waiting on them. "Girls would have pool parties and playdates and little kids over," Michelle said, "and [...] that just doesn't even look right to me."
Then there was also the personal history for Michelle of men in her family who worked in service that she mentioned. Michelle's great-grandfather worked as a Pullman porter — the job working to serve passengers and haul luggage on Pullman sleeper train cars started after the Civil War, and it was only held by Black men because they were thought to be the most compliant workers to serve the predominantly white passengers.
Michelle Obama also made Sasha and Malia make their beds
Michelle Obama talked about the butler dress code a number of times on her "Becoming" book tour. In one appearance with Oprah, Michelle described how important it was for both her and Barack that the girls feel "grounded." So instead of tuxedos, around the White House — unless it was a formal occasion — Michelle said they had the dress code for the butlers switched to something much more relaxed — "polos and slacks."
Along with the change in dress code for the White House butlers to give Sasha and Malia as normal a life as possible, Michelle said that her girls were also required to do their chores while in The White House, but that took some convincing. "I had to beg the housekeepers," Michelle said in "Becoming." "These girls have to learn how to clean their own rooms and make their beds and do their laundry. They will not live here forever, and I am not raising kids who don't know how to make a bed."
Apparently, the girls noticed that Michelle and Barack were getting their bed made, but Michelle was fine with that for her — just not for her girls. She told her daughters that she was grown-up and had put in the work and, as first lady, she could let someone else make her bed. We love to see a mom teaching her kids to look after themselves, even when they wouldn't have to.