The life of Michelle Obama

Brut America

The first black first lady of the United States. A "closer." An advocate. A role model. This is the story of Michelle Obama.

Transcript

00:00That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight.

00:09The story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude,

00:14the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed

00:20to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.

00:48You hear me?

00:49I tell people, don't be afraid, be focused, be determined, be hopeful.

01:15I am a blessed child.

01:17Maybe I didn't have much money, but I was blessed with the love of a father and a mother

01:22who gave me gifts that were priceless.

01:27And for that, I owe so much.

01:29So I think about that.

01:30I think about making them proud.

01:40I was allowed to speak my mind at three and four.

01:44They asked my opinion.

01:46My parents saw this flame in me, that flame that would challenge my Aunt Robbie and speak

01:51up for myself.

01:53And instead of doing what we often do to girls who are feisty, which is try to put that flame

01:59out to douse it ever just so because we're worried about them not being ladylike or to

02:04be being bossy, they found a way to keep that flame lit because they knew I'd need it later

02:11on.

02:34My parents didn't go to university.

02:36We didn't have a lot of money.

02:37They fought for me.

02:39They sacrificed.

02:40They saved.

02:41I had an older brother who went ahead of me, but it wasn't enough that he went to one of

02:45the finest universities in the country.

02:48I saw him and I thought, well, if he can do it, I can do it because I know I'm smarter

02:52than him.

03:02Because every time you're the only black kid in one of those lectures halls or precept,

03:06you're always, you feel like you're proving yourself.

03:09And that gets exhausting.

03:11And you need a place, you need to be able to go to the party where you'll hear music

03:15that you like, where people won't be like, are those braids?

03:18What is that that you're doing with your hair?

04:09Believe it or not, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bill was

04:20actually higher than our mortgage.

04:23Yeah.

04:24We were so young, so in love and so in debt.

05:24Maybe you still can't believe we pulled this whole thing off.

05:53Let me tell you, you're not the only ones, Michelle, Michelle, LaVaughn Robinson, girl

06:06of the South Side.

06:07For the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have

06:12been my best friend.

06:19You took on a role you didn't ask for, and you made it your own, with grace and with

06:26grit and with style and good humor.

06:31You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody.

06:45Today we know that we can no longer let our kids eat whatever they want.

07:11We have to change those notions that girls are only valuable for their reproductive capacity.

07:19The ability to read, write, and analyze, the confidence to stand up and demand justice

07:25and equality, all of that starts with education.

07:41You see, in this race, we have a candidate whose vision for our country is completely

07:48and utterly lacking in hope.

07:51A candidate who calls on us to turn against each other, to build walls, to be afraid.

07:57When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level.

08:02No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.

08:33We're still not where we need to be in the United States of America, when it comes to

08:36race.

08:37You know, people thought electing Barack Obama would end racism.

08:43That's 400 years of stuff that was gonna be eliminated because eight years of this kid

08:50from Hawaii?

08:52Are you kidding me?

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