One picture. That’s all it took for the Washington Post to gleefully proclaim that Michelle Obama has broken free from the chains of the White House and no longer has to identify with the “stodgy” <racist>, former first ladies. She’s free to be whoever she chooses to be, and according to the Washington Post, she’s decided to follow Beyonce’s law-enforcement loathing, Black Panther praising path (without the voice, body or looks of course).

Washington Post: Is this the woman that Michelle Obama sees when she looks in the mirror now, free of the White House and the media scrutiny of presidential politics? After more than a decade in public life, can she freely shed the sheath dress and pearls for a wide brim black hat and dookie braids?

She just did.

By allowing herself to be photographed alongside 15 other members of Beyoncé’s inner circle, Obama reclaimed her image from the annals of stodgy first lady portraits. And, she did it by embodying Beyoncé’s.

The image, in case you haven’t seen it, is part of a birthday tribute to the singer who posted portraits of black women — some famous, others not — dressed in one of her iconic looks from the “Formation” video.

For those who aren’t able to pick out Michelle without seeing her perpetual scowl or eyeballs rolling, she’s the one in the middle:

This image can be found on Beyonce’s mom’s Instagram.

The Washington Post took great pains to make sure there is no room for interpretation when it comes the reason Michelle Obama chose to publicly throw her support behind Beyonce’s divisive, cop-hating music.

From the Washington Post:

Both the former first lady and Queen Bey are two women who don’t put images out into the world without carefully considering their meaning. So what’s the former first lady telling us with this one?

First, that she loves Beyoncé. Well, duh: Their track record of public support dates back to the first inauguration, when the singer serenaded the Obamas with Etta James’s “At Last.”

Second, that she loved “Formation,” undeniably one of ­Beyoncé’s­ most overtly political tracks. The video featured stark images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, along with graffiti supporting the movement for Black Lives Matter, a police cruiser sinking into a body of water and a young black boy dancing in front of a line of officers outfitted in riot gear. That’s all before Beyoncé throws up her middle fingers.

In other words…There can be no denying that Michelle has given up the front, and is coming out as a full-fledged supporter of the anti-law enforcement Black Lives Matter domestic terror group.

The Washington Post wrapped up their piece by reminding their readers how painful it’s been for Michelle to be stuck in the White House, and how she’s looking forward to living a “normal” life again, unlike the “stodgy” former first ladies before her:

In one of her final interviews as first lady, Obama told Oprah Winfrey that she longed for a “normal” life after living in the nation’s fish bowl. So it seems counter­intuitive for her to participate in this such a public display of adulation for one of the world’s most famous women.

Add to that the controversial nature of the look — which hearkens to Beyoncé in one of her more militant moments. Remember that satirical New Yorker cover, which cast Michelle Obama as a fist-bumping, combat boot-wearing, afro’d commando? That image, Obama has said, “knocked [her] back.”

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