Huffington Post columnist Michael Henry Adams wrote a new op-ed that asks a contentious question (and timely, as it’s Fashion Week in New York): Should the Obamas use their influence to bring black designers into the spotlight?

Tall, tanned and terrifically photogenic, America has a brand new first family and they’re black. Our elegant First Lady has already appeared on the cover of Vogue. It’s a fashion magazine which has had comparatively little coverage of blacks over the decades. But so buoyant is the spirit of change in the land, that the smiling visage of Michelle Obama strikes most as nothing at all out of the ordinary. A new day has dawned, they say …

Still, some suggest, the fact that the Obamas have so far passed over black tailors or dress designers is a triviality. Others disagree, saying it is a crucial indicator of what’s to come, a harbinger of which is to have greater significance politically for the administration, issues of style, or matters of substance.

Others contend style and substance are really the same, that one person’s triviality, is another’s livelihood. They are adamant in pointing out that in terms of $100s of millions, if not more, just five people, single-handedly, are going to give certain sectors of the economy a boost, one that amounts to their very own stimulus package. The only uncertainty, they say, is whether or not this ‘Obama factor’ will benefit blacks and whites equally?

Michelle Obama has already proven herself to be a supporter of young and emerging designers like Jason Wu, Mario Pinto, and Narcisco Rodriguez (none of whom, you may notice, are particularly whitebread). It seems presumptuous to say the Obamas owe black designers their support, and the presidency is still mighty young.

E.S. readers, what say you?