Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama gave a commencement speech at the City College of New York. During the speech, she explains why education is so important in opening up opportunities for young people of color. She also reflects on what it means to be a Black family in a “house built by slaves.”

She says:

“It’s the story that I witness every single day. When I wake up in a house that was built by slaves and I watch my daughters, two beautiful Black young women, head off to school, waving goodbye to their father – the President of the United States. The son, of a man from Kenya who came here to America for the same reasons as many of you, to get an education and improve his prospects in life.”

Watch a clip of the speech below:

Photo: NBC News screenshot

Author

  • Jenn M. Jackson was born and raised in East Oakland, California, a fact which motivates her writing and academic ambitions. She is a scholar, educator, and writer whose writing addresses Black Politics and civil and public life for young Black people with a focus on policing and surveillance. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Water Cooler Convos, a culture platform for Black millennials. Her writing has been featured in Washington Post, BITCH Magazine, Marie Claire, EBONY, The Root, Daily Dot, The Independent, and many others. Jackson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago studying American Politics with a focus on political participation and engagement, public opinion and social movements. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.