Move over Michelle Obama. There’s a new First Lady in town.
Well, not exactly. There is only one First Lady of the United States and that’s Michelle Obama. And quite frankly, we’re not giving her up. Not happening. Not ever. Even when President Obama’s second term ends.
Now, we haven’t quite figured out how we’re going to keep FLOTUS in the White House, however, we have figured out how to get another positive, black female force into the homes of Americans.
Enter the New York City mayoral race and Democrat Bill de Blasio’s landslide win on Tuesday. Both brought us Chirlane McCray, his wife of nearly 20 years and a groundbreaking, moving force even before they were married in 1994.
Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and his crew are the cool, political Brooklyn family NYC has been waiting for. His liberal agenda and opposition to stop-and-frisk are major points for us. But we have to be honest…Chirlane McCray would make an awesome mayor. And we think she’s just what we need to step out of the Bloomberg-era.
Why? Because she’s everything. Take a look.
She came out as a gay black woman back in 1979:
Coming out in 2013 is still unsafe in many areas and extremely difficult, but McCray publicly declared her sexual orientation in a 1979 Essence magazine essay entitled “I Am A Lesbian” in an effort to dispel the myth that there were not gay black people. Makes us wonder how powerful an advocate McCray would be to LGBT communities as a mayor. That’s a total win.
She largely rejects labels:
Forget clean, tidy boxes to put everyone in. McCray understands that labels just don’t work in America’s melting pot. When questioned about her relationship with de Blasio after it was discovered she identified as a lesbian, she replied, “Why should I explain my sexuality? I don’t know what I’ll be like 10 years from now.” Like she put it, she found a tall, handsome man, he was cool about it, the chemistry was good, he never questioned her past and she fell in love. Case closed.
She understands the importance of art in society:
And why wouldn’t she? She’s a writer, a poet (who has had her work published in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology), an editor and an all-around wordsmith. Did we mention she’s a speechwriter? How do you think de Blasio won the race?
She has the experience:
McCray isn’t your average First Lady. She had a blooming career before she was married and continued to break barriers after she started a family. After graduating from Wellesley College in 1972, she worked as a speechwriter for New York City Mayor David Dinkins, New York Comptroller Carl McCall and New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson. She also worked for the New York Foreign Press Center as a public affairs specialist during the Clinton Administration. So in short, her husband isn’t the only one calling the shots.
She can multitask like no other:
She’s a mother to two children, high-schooler Dante and college student Chiara, is the moving force behind her husband’s campaign, continues to voice the issues of marginalized communities and is always as fabulous as can be.
Oh. And she married de Blasio in Prospect Park and they created these cool kids. Which means they’re hipsters.
We say de Blasio should pass the baton to his wife, because it’s clear who is really wearing the pants.
But if we can’t have her in that capacity, we guess Bill will do. Congratulations to the de Blasio family!
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Essence, YouTube
