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Because of racism in the US and prejudice by the police, Michelle Obama says she is always worried when one of her daughters drives alone.
The in itself harmless fact that the children get their driver's license fills black parents "hearts with fear," said the former First Lady, 57, in an interview with the broadcaster CBS.
Looking at her two daughters Malia, 22, and Sasha, 19, Obama said, "Every time you get into the car alone, I worry about the assumptions made by someone who doesn't know everything about them." The person sees maybe just the back of her daughters head or listen to louder music and form a judgment, she explained in the interview broadcast last Friday.
Obama did not explicitly say that she was worried about her daughters because of possible clashes with the police.
But there are always incidents between police officers and blacks during traffic controls in the USA.
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Last month, for example, a white woman police officer shot a young African American at a traffic stop near Minneapolis for mistaking her stun gun (taser) for the service weapon, according to police.
In the same city, the African American George Floyd was killed in a police operation last year, which led to nationwide protests against racism.
Many black people in the US "are still scared if we go to the supermarket, walk the dog or allow our children to get their driver's license," Obama said.
"I think we need to talk more about it," she said.