Michelle Obama Wants American Museums to Become More Minority-Friendly

At the dedication ceremony of the new Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, Michelle Obama claims that museums are only places for white people, according to washingtonpost.

"You see, there are so many kids in this country who look at places like museums and concert halls and other cultural centers and they think to themselves, well, that's not a place for me, for someone who looks like me, for someone who comes from my neighborhood. In fact, I guarantee you that right now, there are kids living less than a mile from here who would never in a million years dream that they would be welcome in this museum.

"And growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I was one of those kids myself. So I know that feeling of not belonging in a place like this. And today, as first lady, I know how that feeling limits the horizons of far too many of our young people. "

Appreciating the Whitney for its educational programmes for children in struggling communities, she appealed for museums and theaters to follow them, the Daily News reported.

"[The Whitney is] telling them that their story is part of the American story, and that they deserve to be seen," she said. "And you're sending that message not just with the art you display, but with the educational programming you run here."

"I think that every cultural institution in this country should be doing this kind of outreach and engagement with our young people every single day," she added. She said that she loved the new, $422 million building designed by architect Renzo Piano in the Meatpacking District.

Extremists, of course, do not like her views. Rightwingnews slammed her statement: "If black kids don't think that museums and other such places are "places for them," then that is a problem with black culture, NOT our museums," explained an article in the website.