Not even the First Family is exempt from racial profiling and everyday microaggressions.

In a new interview with People, Barack and Michelle Obama open up about their lives before the White House.

"I think people forget that we've lived in the White House for six years," the First Lady said. "Before that, Barack Obama was a black man that lived on the South Side of Chicago, who had his share of troubles catching cabs."

The President jumped in to detail some of the unpleasantries he's experienced in his life, like being mistaken for a valet, presumably because of the color of his skin.

"There's no black male my age, who's a professional, who hasn't come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn't hand them their car keys," the POTUS said.

The FLOTUS recalled another episode when her husband was mistaken for a restaurant waiter while attending a formal event.

"He was wearing a tuxedo at a black-tie dinner," Mrs. Obama said, "and somebody asked him to get coffee."

The President was quick to note the difference between the “small irritations” and “indignities” that he described and the more extreme examples of what can result from racial prejudice.

“It’s one thing for me to be mistaken for a waiter at a gala,” Obama said. “It’s another thing for my son to be mistaken for a robber and to be handcuffed, or worse, if he happens to be walking down the street and is dressed the way teenagers dress.”

The Obama's comments stemmed from a question about the nationwide protests that have been ongoing since the grand juries' decisions not to indict in the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner's deaths. People's Sandra Westfall says that the President wants "young people to speak out about what they're experiencing," as he and his wife have done here.