( CNN ) -- The September issue of Essence magazine features an interview with Sen. Barack Obama and his family inside their Chicago home . Angela Burt-Murray is editor-in-chief of Essence magazine . Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray said it took a year for the magazine to gain access to the Obama 's Illinois home for an intimate interview with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee , his wife , Michelle , and their daughters , Sasha and Malia . Burt-Murray talked Thursday with CNN `` American Morning '' anchor Kiran Chetry about the interview and the Obama family . Chetry : You are the first African-American media outlet to get this inside look . Did your team get a chance to see the real Obamas ? Burt-Murray : I think we did . We went to their home on the South Side of Chicago and it was wonderful to see them as a family interacting with each other , and see the girls skipping around the house , just acting like it 's a normal , everyday occurrence to have a camera crew in their home and Secret Service at different points throughout the house and around the yard . But it did n't really seem to impact the girls in any way . Watch what Essence found inside the Obamas ' home » . Chetry : Much was made of an earlier televised interview they with their daughters and they said , looking back , they probably should n't have done that . There is so much interest about their family , and yet they want to protect their girls . How do they balance that ? Burt-Murray : They try to take a look at who is around the family and make sure they try to keep things as structured as possible . But also , you have instances where magazines like Essence show up to take photographs , but the girls are very relaxed because they 're in their home environment . And I think that 's the difference between our photo shoot and what you saw on television . Taking the girls outside of their home and putting them in the spotlight is probably a bit more challenging for them as parents . Chetry : They have to deal with completing stereotypes , if you will : They were parodied as these angry black radicals and as these Ivy League elitists . In the magazine , Gwen Ifill wrote , `` The Obamas pride themselves on creating a family picture that is authentically black with shades of Norman Rockwell . '' Explain that . How are they getting that image out . Burt-Murray : I think it 's the idea that they 're just an average American family . They have strong family values , they 're deeply rooted in their community and they want to show their girls a great example of achievement . But they also want to be a model for the rest of their community . The Obamas talk about in our story how important it is for them to continue to live in their South Side Chicago neighborhood because it 's a neighborhood in transition . So you have children who have the opportunity to see an African-American man run for the highest office in the nation right in their neighborhood . So they 're modeling not only for their children but also for the larger community . Chetry : They do live in a gated community , a $ 1.6 million home , so it 's out of reach for a lot of people . Burt-Murray : But it 's so accessible . While we were there photographing them for Essence , you could see the cars going by and stopping and people getting out to take photographs . The girls were on the porch and people could see them . There is some normalcy there , but it 's also obviously something very special and different . Chetry : They said race had been prominent on the campaign trail . Barack Obama told Gwen Ifill that he thinks race is a national obsession . He thinks the racial divide is not as big an issue in this country as it 's made out to be . Burt-Murray : As evidenced by the success that he 's had with his campaign , you can certainly see that attitudes are shifting . But there are still challenges , obviously , that need to be addressed . And it keeps coming up throughout the campaign . So it will be interesting to see what happens when the country goes to the polls in November .
Essence magazine interviews senator , wife and children in Chicago home . Score: 6 Obamas have strong family values , roots in community , Angela Burt-Murray says .