The Obamas Remind Us that The Huxtables Represented Large Numbers of African American Men and Women Over the Decades

Washington Post writer Robin Givhan's article Echoes of TV's First Lady, compares Michelle Obama to Clair Huxtable, underscores just how few cultural images we have of competent, warm and involved professional African American women in the media.

For me the implications of the comparison go beyond Michelle and Claire, and into the cultural view of the Huxtables as a representative American family.

Reflecting on the real world of African American families, it seems that the self-development ideology and family values messages of The Huxtables producer and star Bill Cosby are in alignment with Barack Obama's.

Forgive me if I have that wrong, in my superficial ignorance of comparing the ideologies and philosophies of two highly-influential, real-world men.

I'll be straight by Sunday; please share your thoughts now.

Meanwhile, Rovin Givhan's article Echoes of TV's First Lady provokes our thinking on the American media's portrayal of African American women, men and families since TV over the decades.

I've only skimmed Robin's article but surely her questions and conclusions apply to movies, music and the totality of modern digital culture. A