Michelle Obama: Trending quotes (page 4)

“You can't handle goody bags. Let me explain the goody bag thing. You have to go into the party store and choose the bags. Then you have to choose what to put in the bags, and what is in the boys' bags has to be different from what is in the girls' bags. You'd walk in there and wander around the aisles for an hour, and then your head would explode.”

Michelle Obama

To Barack Obama, as quoted in The Audacity of Hope (2006), by Barack Obama
2000s

Girl , Boy

“Now, just think about this for a moment: For generations, in many parts of this country, it was illegal for black people to get an education. Slaves caught reading or writing could be beaten to within an inch of their lives. Anyone — black or white — who dared to teach them could be fined or thrown into jail. And yet, just two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, this school was founded not just to educate African Americans, but to teach them how to educate others. It was in many ways an act of defiance, an eloquent rebuttal to the idea that black people couldn’t or shouldn’t be educated. And since then, generations of students from all backgrounds have come to this school to be challenged, inspired and empowered. And they have gone on to become leaders here in Maryland and across this country, running businesses, educating young people, leading the high-tech industries that will power our economy for decades to come.”

Michelle Obama

Remarks at Bowie State University ceremony (17 May 2013) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/17/remarks-first-lady-bowie-state-university-commencement-ceremony
2010s

People , Education , School , Way

“I would be very present in his life right now. I would be probably with him a good chunk of the time, just there to talk, to figure out what's going on in his head, to figure out who's in his life and who's not, you know.”

Michelle Obama

On what she would do in the place of Justin Bieber's mother (10 February 2014) http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/michelle-obama-justin-bieber-mom-present-life-article-1.1608513#ixzz2wGte2OyF
2010s

Life , Time

“I’m asking you to believe in yourselves. I’m asking you to stop settling for the world as it is, and to help us make the world as it should be.”

Michelle Obama

2000s, A Challenge to Overcome (November 2007)

World , Help

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great, that somehow we need to make it great again. Because this right now is the greatest country on earth!”

Michelle Obama

2010s, 2016 Democratic National Convention (2016)

Country

“To all the young women here tonight, and all across the country, let me say those words again: Black girls rock! We rock! We rock! No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you are beautiful, you are powerful, you are brilliant, you are funny! Let me tell you, I'm so proud of you. My husband, your president, is so proud of you. And we have such big hopes and dreams for every single one of you.”

Michelle Obama

Speech at BET's 2015 Black Girls Rock! event (28 March 2015) http://uk.eonline.com/news/640752/michelle-obama-offers-inspirational-words-at-2015-black-girls-rock-find-out-what-she-said
2010s

Women , Beauty , Dreams , Hope

“To Mom, Dad, Craig and all of my special friends: Thank-you for loving me and always making me feel good about myself.”

Michelle Obama

" Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community http://pt.scribd.com/doc/2305083/Princeton-Educated-Blacks-and-the-Black-Community", senior thesis, Princeton University (1985), dedication
1980s

Love , Feeling , Moms

“And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.”

Michelle Obama

2000s, Democratic National Convention speech (2008)

Friendship , People , Communication , Learning

“That’s how we’ve always moved this country forward, by all of us coming together on behalf of our children, folks who volunteer to coach that team, to teach that Sunday school class, because they know it takes a village. Heroes of every color and creed who wear the uniform and risk their lives to keep passing down those blessings of liberty, police officers and the protesters in Dallas who all desperately want to keep our children safe. People who lined up in Orlando to donate blood because it could have been their son, their daughter in that club. Leaders like Tim Kaine who show our kids what decency and devotion look like. Leaders like Hillary Clinton who has the guts and the grace to keep coming back and putting those cracks in that highest and hardest glass ceiling until she finally breaks through, lifting all of us along with her.”

Michelle Obama

2010s, 2016 Democratic National Convention (2016)

Children , People , School , Color

“Are we ready to believe in the power of our own voices? Are we ready to cast aside our fear and cynicism? Are we ready to work our hearts out to make our dream a reality? Are we ready to overcome? If we are truly ready, then now is the time. This one’s on us. We cannot afford to wait. We cannot afford to doubt. We cannot afford to make excuses. We have this moment of opportunity. And we need to seize it.”

Michelle Obama

2000s, A Challenge to Overcome (November 2007)

Fear , Dreams , Reality , Time

“A lot of young people think they're invincible, but the truth is young people are knuckleheads.”

Michelle Obama

During appearance on "Tonight Show" (21 February 2014) http://washingtonexaminer.com/michelle-obama-young-people-are-knuckleheads/article/2544377
2010s

People , Truth , Thinking

“And if so many brave men and women could sacrifice their lives for our most fundamental rights, then surely we can do our parts as citizens of this great democracy to exercise those rights. Surely we can get to the polls on an election day and make our voices heard.”

Michelle Obama

2010s, Democratic National Convention speech (2012)

Women , Men , Exercises , Democracy

“Every day, the people I meet inspire me, every day, they make me proud, every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth.”

Michelle Obama

2010s, Democratic National Convention speech (2012)

People

“I wake up in a house that was built by slaves.”

Michelle Obama

Remarks by the First Lady at City College of New York Commencement https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/03/remarks-first-lady-city-college-new-york-commencement (3 June 2016); quoted in "Michelle Obama: Every Day, 'I Wake Up in a House That Was Built by Slaves'" http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/06/04/michelle-obama-every-day-i-wake-up-in-house-built-slaves/ by Jeremy Hudson, Breitbart (4 June 2016)
2010s

Housing

“Now young people can get insurance for as little as $50 a month, less than the cost of gym shoes.”

Michelle Obama

During appearance on "Tonight Show" (21 February 2014) http://washingtonexaminer.com/michelle-obama-young-people-are-knuckleheads/article/2544377
2010s

People , Shoe

“We know that today in America, too many folks are still stopped on the street because of the color of their skin, or they're made to feel unwelcome because of where they come from, or they're bullied because of who they love. As you go forth, when you encounter folks who still hold the old prejudices because they've only been around folks like themselves, when you meet folks who think they know all the answers because they've never heard any other viewpoints, it's up to you to help them see things differently.”

Michelle Obama

Quoted on Yahoo News!, "First lady tells Kansas students to fight bias" (16 May 2014) http://news.yahoo.com/first-lady-tells-kansas-students-fight-bias-021747701.html
2010s

Love , Color , Feeling , Thinking

“And that brings me to the other big lesson that I want to share with you today. It’s a lesson about how to get through those struggles, and that is, instead of letting your hardships and failures discourage or exhaust you, let them inspire you. Let them make you even hungrier to succeed. Now, I know that many of you have already dealt with some serious losses in your lives. Maybe someone in your family lost a job or struggled with drugs or alcohol or an illness. Maybe you’ve lost someone you love […]. […] So, yes, maybe you’ve been tested a lot more and a lot earlier in life than many other young people. Maybe you have more scars than they do. Maybe you have days when you feel more tired than someone your age should ever really feel. But, graduates, tonight, I want you to understand that every scar that you have is a reminder not just that you got hurt, but that you survived. And as painful as they are, those holes we all have in our hearts are what truly connect us to each other. They are the spaces we can make for other people’s sorrow and pain, as well as their joy and their love so that eventually, instead of feeling empty, our hearts feel even bigger and fuller. So it’s okay to feel the sadness and the grief that comes with those losses. But instead of letting those feelings defeat you, let them motivate you. Let them serve as fuel for your journey.”

Michelle Obama

2010s, Commencement speech for Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep graduates (2015)

Love , Life , Pain , People

“I listened to the pastors and elders in my churches. I listened to my mother who stayed home to raise my brother and me. I listened to my father, who worked hard every day in a blue collar job; a man who sacrificed his dreams to put food on the table and put his children through college and leave a pension to support my mom when he passed away. I listened to my grandfather, who was from Georgetown, South Carolina. Like my mom and dad, my grandfather never went to college, but he was a proud man, a smart man, and he filled my brother and me with big dreams about the lives we could lead. He taught me that my destiny had not been written before I was born – that my destiny was in my hands.”

Michelle Obama

2000s, A Challenge to Overcome (November 2007)

Children , Food , Dreams , Home

“People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.”

Michelle Obama

2000s, Democratic National Convention speech (2008)