Michael on Keeping Your Eyes Open

"I have been working for the Downtown BID for three years. I'm always learning about this city. One of the important things to know is that there is no J Street in D.C.. That is because the 'j' and the 'i' look similar in old English. They didn't want to confuse people, so they eliminated J Street. I've also learned that people ask you all kinds of weird questions out here. I had one gentleman ask me where to buy coke. I said, 'Are you serious!?' The guy said, 'Well, you seem to know everything else about this city.' 

"Otherwise, most tourists ask about the usual stuff. People don't come over and ask me about Southeast or Northeast, it is usually the sites in Northwest and where the celebrities go, like Ben's Chili Bowl. Even during July 4th, everyone rushes down to the Mall to see the fireworks, but the best views are from Southeast because of all the hills there. Everyone comes here and strains their necks looking up when they could could just sit atop one of the hills in Southeast and look out. But, Southeast has a bad rap and many people don't want to go there. It's a shame because it is so beautiful. 

"The best thing about working for the BID is that they always tell us about stuff in this city before it happens. I knew about the H Street trolley before my friends did. Those are the little things about this job that make it interesting. My own prediction is that downtown will have a big shopping area soon. People complain about the lack of shopping opportunities in this city and I think that there will be lots of retail, restaurants and places to spend your money downtown soon. I mean, who likes going to indoor malls when you could do your shopping outdoors. 

"Overall, my experience in D.C. has been a good one. People always talk about how expensive this city is, but you could entertain yourself for days for free here. I think that the more you get out in D.C., the more you realize all of these great things that you didn't know existed. Just walk around with your eyes open and you'll see how amazing this place is. And the people are friendly here. People from out of town always tell me how friendly D.C. is. We get a bad rap, but we really are friendly people."

Justin on Captain White's

"I grew up in Annandale, Virginia. My family owns Captain White's at the Maine Avenue Fish Market. We've owned it for 38 years or so. It originated with my grandfather selling fish off of a picnic table here and just expanded. I started working at the market when I was eight years old and was pretty much raised here. When my parents were here, I was here, unless I was at school. After school, my Mom would bring me down and I spent all of my weekends around fish. Owning this market, we ate our share of fish growing up.

"In the last twenty years, the market hasn't changed all that much. We've expanded a little bit, but otherwise there have not been big changes. We still get the seafood from all over, with about 90% of it coming in fresh daily. The different stands are owned by different families, and we are all pretty competitive. Most of us have been around for a while.

"This market has become my family. Without this place, we wouldn't have anything. I didn't go to college, I don't know anything else."

D'von on Enjoying the Trip

"Right now, I work as a bike messenger to make money, so I can go to school. I've worked in construction, mail rooms, law firms, and the military, but this is the best job yet. I am going to hate to give this up. See, I am one of the crazier ones out here. The other messengers call me 'Hood Ornament.' I ride around these streets like the devil! All of my life, I've been riding. People always called me crazy because I would ride from Southeast to Northwest, like that was some long-ass trip. Come on man, D.C. is eight miles by ten miles. That's nothing on a bike. I get around everywhere in 15 minutes flat.

"While D.C. has bike lanes, people don't look out for bikers here. I've been in two crazy accidents. Once, a black luxury cab hit me on purpose. The cops did nothing about it. Another time, I got cut off by a car and thrown 15 feet into the air. I woke up with a neck brace on and a dislocated shoulder. I can't always blame the drivers, though. When I am driving, I'm not always looking for bikes either. You'll think I'm crazy, but I still never wear a helmet. They are bulky, make me sweat, and make my ears smell. I know, I'm crazy, but you gotta go sometime. If it's gonna happen, it's just gonna happen. You might as well enjoy the trip and let your hair flow in the wind.

"Soon, I guess, I won't have to worry about this craziness as much as I'll have a desk job. Now, I am studying information systems to work in homeland security. I have a military background and am looking to get back into that field. When I got out of the Marines in 1999, many people wouldn't hire me because I had the 'Marine mentality.' That was crazy to me! Now, with all this terrorism and homeland security, things are different and people want the 'Marine mentality.' 

"I was the first person in my family to go to the Marines. I got out on December 4, 1999. That was right before the Iraq conflict, but I spent six months in Bosnia. After me, all of my cousins went to the Marines. I even have a cousin who went to Iraq twice. Now, it's a family tradition. Being a Marine doesn't make being a bike messenger easy, but it makes it easier. I am much more patient now when buses and cabs cut me off, which happens all the time. Only real bad thing about going back to that military work will be cutting my hair. But for the right amount of  money, I'll follow the rules to a 't.'" 

Councilmember Jim Graham on What it's All About

“You’ll not be surprised to hear that I think that I am a good fit as the Ward One Councilmember. Part of that fit is that I really feel that I contribute to the diversity of this ward. I come to the council as an immigrant and a naturalized citizen. My family and I came to this country from Scotland and settled in Hyattsville. What I knew about the U.S. when I was a little boy in Scotland was largely Juicy Fruit gum and of, course, the cowboy movies. I remember coming here after getting off the boat and driving down from New York. The lights were spectacular. I mean, roadways that were lit! We had nothing like that in Scotland. We came very much in pursuit of the great dream of this country. This would be a better life than in, what we called, the old country. Neither of my parents had a high school education. My brother became a Ph.D. and I have a law degree. That happened because of coming here. The great immigrant dream is that education opens the door for opportunity. It surely did for us.    

"You know, I’m an example of a little person who was decidedly impacted by a big event. The impact on me was the election of 1980 and its aftermath. In 1980, Reagan was elected. Everyone in my circle expected that Carter was going to lose, but what was astounding was that the U.S. Senate went Republican. Who would have thought that the Republicans would win a majority in the Senate after thirty years of Democratic rule? It was like the sun not rising. While I did still have a good job at the time working with a senator, I felt that I was withering in that work place. So, I started working as a volunteer at the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Those were still the first years of the AIDS epidemic. At the time, having AIDS was basically having a death sentence.

"During those years, you could not be an openly gay person in the Senate. It would have jeopardized your job. Look at how Senator Nunn fired two aides who came out. Even though I was working for a fairly enlightened senator at the time, I don't think it would have been worth the risk for him to support me being an openly gay member of his staff. So, I left my job and, having first been a volunteer, became the Administrator of the Whitman-Walker Clinic. It was very exciting for me because it was an opportunity to do something I really believed in. It was also an opportunity to be myself. From there, I made my run for office. 

"Now, the thing that I get the most satisfaction from is how, on a daily basis, I can impact the quality of life for people in this ward. In that regard, it is very much a continuation of the Whitman-Walker Clinic. In Ward One, close to 25 percent of the people live below the poverty line. A lot of people don't know that. These people and their issues are my greatest priority. These are the people who are most in need of government protection. The legislative achievements that I'm most proud of relate to helping those most in need. What it comes down to is that I've always been moved to help people. That's what it's all about.” 

Councilmember Graham was first elected to the City Council in 1998. He is the Chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. He is also a member of the Committee on Aging and Community Affairs, the Committee on Housing and Workforce Development and the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs. Mr. Graham is chairman of the Metro/WMATA board of directors. Learn more about Councilmember Graham here. 

Carl and Seshat on Kids as Therapy

Carl – “My name is Carl. Some call me Kokayi. I’m a native Washingtonian who was born and raised mainly in Southwest D.C., and partially in Mannheim, Germany. I’ve been to over 35 countries, all without being in the military, taught hip-hop clinics at prestigious universities, worked with the State Department doing cultural exchanges with my band, had two major label record deals in a foreign country, got nominated for a Grammy in 2009 — all while remaining in relative obscurity. I still work on music, but have a full-time job, mostly because I became a realist about my love affair with music and the realities of the modern music business.

“I’m a parent to two hilarious kids who are my therapy. I never thought that I’d be able to have kids. It was my biggest fear throughout my early 20’s. I feel blessed to be able to spend my time on this rock with them, watching them grow and seeing them prosper into great adults. Until I met my wife, I had very little belief in stable relationships. I wanted one, but didn’t believe they could exist for me. She helped redirect my life’s course and is my best: friend, critic, motivator, source of truth, and publicist, and is the one I’ve entrusted with my heart, fears and insecurities, all of which I know she would never harm intentionally.”

Seshat – “I was a small-town, country girl from the Eastern Shore. I graduated from a university in rural Pennsylvania and threw myself into an unknown city to live and intern at one of the largest homeless shelters on the East Coast. I created programs for the women residents, taught GED classes and worked the women’s floor. To say it was a life-changing experience is to put it mildly. Now, I’m a mama, wife, writer and playwright residing in Northeast D.C. I have a love for Ward 7. Our neighbors are friendly and look out for one another. We love walking. Our house is charming, which is a classy word for small. I hate that our only sit-down restaurant is Denny’s, though I know that the new H Street Trolley will change all of that.

“My husband and I met when I was hired by his band mate to be a publicist for their hip-hop band. We became good friends out of sharing our stories of unrequited love and failed relationships. We got married in Malcolm X Park on August 26th, 2000. My husband is my best friend. I believe being best friends has allowed our marriage to survive so far. We can tell each other everything and anything. I believe that, in a marriage, you have to agree to disagree. We go through it like anyone else because we’re both very strong-willed. But we usually get over our disagreements quickly. We both have a sick sense of humor and believe that our kids are the best entertainment in the world. My daughter, Phina, is a natural debater, music snob, public defender, bookworm and girly girl. My son, Dahvi, is a block-builder, architect, designer, mini-paleontologist, and stand-up comedian, and espouses random facts. People have come to us over time wondering how we are raising kids in such an expensive city with sucky schools. There’s no manual for this. Our parenting skills straddle somewhere between the traditional and ‘how-about-we-do-this’ approach. This is what works for us:

1) Teach our kids to always tell the truth.

2) Teach our kids not to be afraid of their own people.

3) Teach our kids to stick up for themselves.

4) No TV during the week and little on the weekends.

5) Put our kids into a great, diverse charter school that challenges them and makes them think about their place in the world. 6) Take them to every free, age-appropriate educational and cultural event we can.

“For the most part, my kids are pretty good kids. I believe my kids have some edge living in the city, yet they remain kids. They’re still sensitive, innocent and inquisitive. They also get to go visit my parents in the country a couple of times a year, which balances it out. Personally, I can live either in a city or the country. I can’t do the suburbs. We are planning to purchase a property this year. It’s not easy in this land of overpriced, big-on-features but, small-on-space condos. We’re going to make it work somehow. Laughing helps.”

Debra on Flow Yoga Center

"I was living in San Francisco and I had a terrible break up. Though I love that city more than anything in the world, I felt that nudge to do something different. I was working for a company that had an office in Berkeley and D.C. I encouraged my boss to think about opening a branch in NYC. He agreed and I moved to New York. I was the only person in the office, and I did sales and marketing for a company that sold software to non-profit organizations. I was in New York for a while and, at some point during my time there, I started to date one of my clients who was based in D.C. That was Ian, the man I ended up marrying. We started to date long distance and then a year into my time in New York, my boss said that I should come back to San Francisco or move to D.C.

"So much of me wanted to move back to San Francisco, but I came to D.C. At that point, I was only dating Ian for about six months and I don't think we had said I love you yet. But there was something that made me decide to go to D.C. I had the conversation with Ian about moving to D.C. and asked his opinion.  In a typical way, he said it would be really great if I came to D.C., but I shouldn't do it for him. So I did and moved a mile away from him. He was very welcoming and, in the end, it all worked out. 

"At the time, I was getting bored of my job and feeling the calling towards yoga. I had been practicing for about ten years. I met a bunch of women on a yoga retreat as soon as I moved to D.C. We would get together every couple of weeks and talk and support each other. We decided to read this book called 'The Artist's Way.' It is twelve steps to uncovering your passions and creativity. Throughout the workbook, there are different questions and one of them was, 'If money and time were no object, what would you do?' Out of nowhere, I blurted out that I would open a yoga studio.  I had never thought of it before. Sure enough, that following year, I opened Flow. 

"We found this place and Flow came about in 2005. I really liked this neighborhood and as I was walking around one day, I saw the liquor store, looked up and saw the empty space above. I went to the liquor store and asked who owned the building. The guy said, 'No one,' but it turned out he was not so welcoming because he didn't think that I was serious. He actually owned the building. This was a total raw space when we moved in. We had to do a full build-out. The business plan was pretty easy to make. I interviewed other studio owners, which was really helpful. The other thing that was really helpful was that I had money to open the studio because a company that I worked for in San Francisco was bought by Amazon, so I got all of this Amazon stock. A lot of people sold, but I held onto it and used that stock to open this place. I realize that not everyone has that same luxury. I feel fortunate that I was able to pursue my passion." 

Flow Yoga Center is located at 1450 P Street Northwest.  

Ian, left, is pictured with Debra. 

Duane on Anacostia's ARCH

"I first came to D.C. in 1961. I lived in Anacostia and worked as a summer intern for a Congressman from Reading, Pennsylvania. Back then, this was a thriving community. It was 50% white and 50% black. All of the stores were open and there were jazz clubs and restaurants here. Things changed after the riots. In 1980, I came back to D.C. I used to be the Director of Energy Conservation for the state of New Jersey. I was a political appointee and when my boss left, I applied for a job at the Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) in charge of their energy conservation programs and was eventually put in charge of their community economic development programs. Out of that, we started the ARCH Training Center. Marion Barry, who was Mayor at the time, and then City Council Chair John Wilson, both of whom I knew from the civil rights movement, worked with us to establish the program in an old school in Anacostia. Pepco gave me release time to develop the ARCH programs and funded them until 1996.  

"We started as an adult job training program. We expanded into a homeless organization, a housing organization, a community economic development corporation, and a construction company. Each of these programs grew out of the needs of the community. At the time, these organizations did not exist in Ward 8. There were no housing organizations, now there must be eight or nine. As more organizations here provided services, ARCH contracted to do the two things we did best: job training and small scale economic development using arts and culture and the creative economy as a way to regenerate Anacostia. 

"What ARCH is trying to do is to help develop businesses that either support the creative economy or are not totally dependent on the local population to support their businesses. There is not the disposable income in the neighborhood yet. Now, one of our projects is the Honfleur Gallery. If you took the physical facility of that art gallery and put it in SoHo, it would fit. It is a modern museum space and allows us to bring international artists, musical groups and poetry that attracts Ward 8 residents and those throughout the District. We try and combine the arts with the extremely relevant things that are going on here. 

"In the end, I think that it is more important to talk about Anacostia than to talk about me. Anacosita has a bad rap. The worst thing to ever happen to Anacostia was the Washington Post. If any crime happens east of the river, it is reported as being in Anacostia. For years, a murder would take place on Mississippi Avenue on the Maryland border and that would be Anacostia. We are working with a number of other individuals and organizations to try and bring back the feel of how this place used to be. We realize that now Anacostia is not a place of destination. People will only come here if there is something specific. People don't come her to walk around. We are trying to change that."

Duane Gautier is the founder and CEO of both ARCH Training Center and ARCH Development Corporation. Honfleur Gallery, a project of ARCH Development Corporation, opened in January 2007 as a contemporary arts space and cultural hub in Historic Anacostia. A second exhibition space and high end digital printing lab, Vivid Solutions, is dedicated specifically to photography and digital art, and opened in 2008.

Terrence on Dressing for the Occasion

"I grew up in D.C., 14th and Randolph St. Northwest. I spent most of my life in D.C. until I moved to Montgomery County and then joined the Army. I served for eight years, including tours in Germany and California. I came back to D.C. in 1985 after being discharged. I had a brain aneurysm in California and now the left side of my body is paralyzed. I came back because this was home and pretty much all of my family lives here. This place had changed a lot while I was away and continues to change all the time. Just look at some of our neighborhoods. I mean Chinatown is completely different than how it was when I was coming up.

"Today, I had a job interview doing security so I had to dress for the occasion. I woke up this morning and this is what I felt like wearing. Come on man, I got this job. I have been in the Army for eight years. I know what I am doing when it comes to security."

Jose on Being a Part of It

This interview was translated from Spanish.

"I came to this country in October 1988 from El Salvador. Over time, my whole family came over to America, except for one or two people. This country has been good to me, and I thank D.C. for all of the opportunities to work and raise my family here. It is difficult to be so far away from my home and culture, especially as I don't speak much English - just a few words. I still go back to El Salvador every year to see my friends and family and keep a connection to the place. But my life is here now.

"I came here in my late 30's and went straight to work. It is hard to learn a new language when you are older and don't have the time to do much other than work. I originally came here to make money for my family and go back to El Salvador so I didn't really worry about the language. But I ended up staying and got my citizenship. I am still trying to learn English, but I am 57 and it is even more difficult now than when I was a younger man. But I make do.

"In 1995, I took a job at the National Building Museum. I work as a janitor and keep the building clean and look after the outside. Because of my English, I don't know as much about the museum as I wish I did. Still, I find the museum beautiful and like to see all of the people, including the school children, come and enjoy themselves in the space. It is nice to be a part of that."

Kamel on Free Hugs

"I was born in Algeria and came here twelve years ago when I was twelve. Life here was completely different than Algeria. I lived in Virginia at first. It was just like the movies! But, when I spent more time seeing the inside of life there, I didn't like it. My family moved to Columbia Heights a number of years ago. I like it better here and can do stuff like this - give out free hugs outside the Target. I decided on this location because it is near my house and there is a lot of foot traffic. The diversity here is great, so I can hug all kinds of people.

"I thought that giving out free hugs was a nice way to share the love and interact with strangers. A lot of people go through really hard days and, if I can make their day lighter, I know it will make both of our days brighter. Plus, everybody loves hugs! If you can't express something through words on the street, then expressing something physically is at a whole 'nother level. I have gotten a few negative response, but the positives definitely make up for them. I say one-out-of-ten people come and get a free hug from me. And once someone gets a hug, those watching want free hugs, too. I am pretty good at feeling the other person's energy and responding with the right kind of hug. I also do fist bumps for those that don't want hugs. It's just about the connection.

"From here, I am probably going to expand and give out more hugs around the city. I actually have a couple of friends who are going to get involved. Why wouldn't people want to give and get hugs? It makes you and other people feel good. I also have a sign in Spanish because you have to target the Latin community. You gotta give them the opportunity to get some love, too."

Matthew on Asking the Right Questions

"I grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. When I graduated from college, I couldn't get into graduate school and rather than be drafted into Vietnam, I joined the Navy and went to Officer Candidate School. I spent a year watching the war and two years in Scotland as a diplomatic courier. I came to Washington in the early 70's. I had G.I. money and went to get my MBA in computers at American University. My first job in town was in the information business. I was a paper boy and delivered the New York Times at 5 a.m. everyday.

"I always knew that I wanted my own business. I would sell hot dogs on the Mall if I had to. I started a few businesses that failed. Then, I became a consultant. Funny how when people fail, they become consultants! So, I started with a phone and a desk down at Foggy Bottom. I was getting free government information and selling it to Fortune 500 fat cats. It shocked me that a schmuck like me from Wilkes-Barre could make a free phone call and turn around and sell that information for thousands of dollars to some rich person who was too lazy to get it. It was basically a shoe shine business. People spend $5 to shine their shoes when you can get a $2 can of shoe polish at CVS that will last your whole life. That mentality is what this town is all about. After helping rich people for a number of years, I figured that I would spend the rest of my life helping the rest of the country find out how to get useful government information. 

"Now, I look back on my failures and realize that they were the result of me not doing things my own way. I thought if I failed that I would have a permanent 'F' on my forehead, but people don't give a shit. They are too worried about themselves. It took me a couple of failures to figure that out. When I started this business, I wanted to have fun. I figured that the worst that would happen would be failing again. When I started having fun, things became different. I realized that I was good at acting foolishly on television. My parents did not admit that I was their kid for the first ten years of my career! They wanted me to act like Henry Kissinger. I wouldn't sell shit if I acted like that. Life is trying to realize who you are. The more you go through this education system, you are told to be like everyone else. We should be bringing out the best in everyone and encouraging people to do what they are really good at. 

"To me, that is what the question mark suits are all about. About ten years ago, I was in a down cycle and bought a cheap suit and had someone embroider a question mark on it. I always wanted to have a suit like that. Had I been a teacher or accountant, I would have gotten the same suit. To me, the philosophy behind the question mark is that we live in a society where we have more accessible information than at any other  time in history. You can go to Google and get a million answers. The answers are easy, it is the questions that are hard. I really believe that we need to struggle in life to ask the right questions." 

Learn more about Matthew Lesko here. 

Abrahatsiyone on Being Her Own Boss

"I came to D.C. 24 years ago. I am originally from Eritrea. I own this food stand and have been in this same place for seventeen years. Always on 4th and E Street Northwest and always selling the same things: hot dogs, chips, soda and candy. I decided on this space because my family used to run another food business here. When I was ready, they gave this to me so I could run my own business. 

"After all of this time, I have a nice relationship with the people here. When I need to use the bathroom, I can go use the building across the street. I lock the door and the other vendors and people on the street look after my stand. I have been here so long that we all know each other. 

"I am here five days a week, no matter the weather. In the winter, it is very cold and there is not much business because people don't want to come outside. But still, I have to be here. It is difficult to be your own boss, but I like that no one tells me what to do. I decide whether the business is open or not. I am out here to earn money for me and my family. That makes me work harder." 

Wale on Sneakers and Hip-Hop

"D.C. has influenced a lot of my music. The call and response, the drums, the beats, basically all of my tracks are directly impacted by D.C. It is important to incorporate your hometown in Hip-Hop because it is such a regional sport. I love D.C, man. I was born in Northwest. I moved to Maryland at ten years old and have been moving back and forth ever since. Some of the most influential things for me here have been the shoes and the music, especially Go-Go. 

"Shoes have always been a part of my life. I used to work at a sneaker store up in Price George's Plaza. That was kind of when the sneaker culture jumped off in connection to Hip-Hop. Working at the store, I had the inside plug and always got shoes a week early. I even remember skipping school to get the Air Jordan Space Jams. I used to save my money to get the latest sneaks. It has always been a part of the culture out here. This has always been a big shoe city. I think that being a trendsetter with sneakers really helped me with Hip-Hop because people would check out my sneaks and my style. 

"With Hip-Hop, I still remember going to certain places to buy mixtapes when I was little. I used to look up to all of those rappers and now I am on their level. It's humbling. I feel like I've come a long way, but still got a long way to go. You know, I'm just a regular dude. I don't want to portray no images like I'm a street dude or nothing like that. I'm far from that. I'm just a guy who wears his feelings on his sleeve and I'm proud of it. I let my music reflect that."

Learn more about Wale and listen to his music here. 

 

Omotayo on Rebuilding What He Broke Down

"I was two or three when I came to D.C. from Nigeria. I remember going to elementary school in Southeast. It was a new experience. It was a rough experience. The neighborhoods were not the best, but I tried to keep myself right and do good in school. I didn't really travel much outside of my neighborhood, but I decided to go to Duke Ellington School of the Arts to get a different experience of this city. It was there where I got really serious about school. Now, I am in the National Honor Society and want to go to college in fine arts. D.C. kind of helped me with my artistic development because it is a small place and has a good reputation for art. A lot of my art is about my own story.

"In D.C, it was, like, kind of rough fitting in because everybody mispronounced my name. My name means child of joy. This was a hard environment for me. Usually, I would do what everybody else was doing. At the same time, I kept my Nigerian identity by going to the Nigerian churches here. My Mom spoke Yoruba, our language, a lot. At home, we would greet people traditionally. The funny thing about all of that is that I rejected those customs when I first moved here. These customs were what made me different. I didn't want to be seen as the African kid, I just wanted to be seen as another kid. I kind of regret doing that because I feel like I lost some things in that process. But now, I am trying to take all of that back in and rebuild what I broke down. My art represents a lot of that process. It's funny, after all of that time, I am now seen as an African-American kid because unless you know my name and story, you just assume that I am that, but I feel African. Interesting how age has helped me come back to who I am. Now, I feel African. Actually, I take that back, I am just an individual. I don't like being boxed into a category."

Cousins Diamond and Lavaya on the President's House

Lavaya - "I'm seven. Today, my Dad is taking us to the president's house and the Washington Monument and the library. I think a lot of work happens in the president's house. He makes laws there that impact everybody. The president's house is a big place that has two parts - one part for living and one part for working. I hear that each president gets to keep a room so that all the presidents can live together. My favorite part of Washington is Barack Obama. Did you know that he can speak seven different languages? He speaks English, Hawaiian and Illinois, but I forget the rest." 

Diamond - "I'm seven, too. I know that the president also has his cabinets. His cabinets are full of people who help him. The cabinets sit at the table with him and they coach him a lot. But, these aren't cabinets like in a kitchen. In his kitchen cabinets, he probably has food and cereal and other good stuff to eat. My favorite part of Washington is Michelle and the kids. I think that Michelle Obama sleeps a lot because she is so tired after taking care of Sasha and Malia. I think that Barack and Michelle think their girls are really special and call them both angels." 

Diamond, left, is pictured with her cousin Lavaya.