Her father may no longer be in office, however that has not stopped Malia Obama from forming her own opinion regarding politics and events in this country. This past Monday, just four days after her father vacated the Oval Office, Malia made it clear just how disappointed she was in the new commander-in-chief by joining a rally protesting his plans to revive the Dakota Access pipeline project.
The 18-year-old student, who will be heading off to Harvard University later this year, was one of approximately 100 people who gathered on Main Street at the Sundance Film Festival to let it be known how upset she was with President Trump’s plan to move forward with the controversial transport system.
The group braved the blistering cold and heavy snowfall as they held up signs reading ‘Exist. Resist. Rise.’ and ‘Impeach corporate control.’
That first sign expressed the group’s solidarity with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, while the second expressed their displeasure with the Sundance Film Festival for allowing Chase Bank to be a sponsor of their event due to the fact that they are invested in the pipeline.
This is why the rally was held directly in front of the Chase Sapphire on Main Lounge.
And a few hours later, Malia was also one of the select individuals in attendance at a private event with Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault, a man who just last month publicly applauded her father when he put a halt to the pipeline after months of protests at the site.
Actress Shailene Woodley, who has been using her celebrity for much of the past two years to bring awareness to this cause, revealed that Malia had attended both the rally and private event in an interview with Democracy Now.
‘It was amazing to see Malia. I saw her last night when we did the event with Chairman Dave Archambault. And it was incredible to see her there,’ said Woodley, 25, when asked about the former first daughter’s very public support of the cause.
“Also, to witness a human being and a woman coming into her own outside of her family and outside of the attachments that this country has on her, but someone who’s willing to participate in democracy because she chooses to, because she recognizes, regardless of her last name, that if she doesn’t participate in democracy, there will be no world for her future children.”~ Woodley
Woodley was not full of praise for all of the Obamas however, making it clear that she wished Barack had done more to stop the pipeline when it was first proposed three years ago.
‘You know, as a citizen, of course, I would say that. But I’m not—I’m not in the White House. I don’t know what obstacles that man was up against. I don’t know what resistance he was up against,’ said Woodley.
Barack Obama halted the project back in December by announcing that the Army would not approve an easement that would have allowed the proposed pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota.
Malia landed in snowy Park City on Sunday after spending a few days with her parents and sister Sasha in Palm Springs, California at the home of White House interior designer Michael Smith.
The Obamas revealed just before Malia graduated from the prestigious Sidwell Friends School last year that she had deferred her admittance to Harvard by one year, a decision that gave her the luxury of starting college as a private citizen and not a member of the first family.
We over at #THEBLACKJUICE hope that Malia continues to stay active, make a voice heard and accomplish great things in her future.