![]() Just like generations who have come before you, you have to do your part to preserve and protect those freedoms - and that starts right now, when you’re young.” You cannot take your freedoms for granted. ![]() This right has to be earned every single day. “But I also want to be very clear: This right isn’t just handed to you. “Because you do, and you have a right to be exactly who you are.” “Do not let anyone make you feel like you don’t matter, or you don’t have a place in our American story,” Obama said. Her speech was ostensibly about the importance of education and the caring work school counselors do.īut, like her speech at the Democratic National Convention, which claimed the mantle of “family values” for Democrats, her final message from the White House conspicuously stressed the virtues of diversity in what seemed to be an implicit contrast to much of Trump’s rhetoric. Just as she did on the campaign trail, Obama - who became one of Hillary Clinton’s most effective surrogates - never mentioned Trump’s name. She singled out immigrants, the children of immigrants, children from poor families, and children of every faith, saying, “Our glorious diversity, our diversities of faiths and colors and creeds, that is not a threat to who we are,” she said. “This country belongs to you - to all of you, from every background and walk of life,” Obama said in a speech addressed to the young people of America. She’ll make her final late night show appearance next Wednesday on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.Michelle Obama’s final speech as first lady Friday was, on the surface, an innocuous event - it honored the national school counselor of the year.īut wrapped in a speech ostensibly about the importance of supporting kids’ dreams, Obama seemed to be making an emotional, implicit criticism of President-elect Donald Trump’s vision for America. And for that moment I thought, I’m going to miss waking up to this, having access to this anytime I want.”įriday’s event won’t be the final time the public will be able to hear from the first lady, however. Looking out on the South Lawn and the Washington Monument and it had just rained and the grass was really green and everything popped a little bit more. “Even today, I was looking out at this view here. “You know, there are little … moments,” she told Vogue in November. She’s also hosted musical and theater performances at the White House, inviting students from Washington schools to partake in cultural events they may not have otherwise experienced.ĭuring last year’s political campaign, she also spoke out forcefully against Trump, arguing in passionate remarks that his comments about women had shaken her.Īs she leaves the White House, the first lady has described what she’ll miss, including the hyper-attentive personal staff and the sense of history. In her time at the White House, Obama has championed education, fitness, and military families, often using the East Room or the South Lawn to speak out on her chosen topics. It’s part of her “Reach Higher” program to promote higher education. The ceremony, which Obama initiated in 2015, highlights high school counselors who have demonstrated leadership skills. The event aimed at honoring the 2017 School Counselor of the Year comes exactly two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. Then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of you boundless promise. You hear me, young people? Don’t be afraid. “I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong,” Obama said, her voice breaking several times near the end of her remarks. ![]() WASHINGTON - Michelle Obama gave her final White House remarks in an emotional speech Friday, thanking her supporters and saying, “being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life and I hope I’ve made you proud.” Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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