Remarks by the First Lady at Tuskegee University Commencement Address<\/p>\n
Tuskegee University<\/p>\n
Tuskegee, Alabama<\/p>\n
12:30 P.M. CDT<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MRS. OBAMA:\u00a0 Thank you all.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Thank you so much. (Applause.)\u00a0 Let\u2019s let our graduates rest themselves.\u00a0 You\u2019ve worked hard for those seats!\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
Let me start by thanking President Johnson for that very gracious introduction, and for awarding me with this honorary degree from an extraordinary institution.\u00a0 I am proud to have this degree — very proud.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 Thank you so much.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
I want to recognize Major General Williams; Congresswoman Sewell; Zachary; Kalauna; to all of the trustees, the faculty, the staff here at Tuskegee University.\u00a0 Thank you — thank you so much for this warm welcome, this tremendous hospitality.\u00a0 And I’m so glad to be here.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
Before I begin, I just want to say that my heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved Eric Marks, Jr.\u00a0 I understand he was such a talented young man, a promising aerospace engineer who was well on his way to achieving his dream of following in the footsteps of the Tuskegee Airmen.\u00a0 And Eric was taken from us far too soon.\u00a0 And our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with his family, his friends, and this entire community.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
I also have to recognize the Concert Choir.\u00a0 Wow, you guys are good!\u00a0 Well done!\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Beautiful song.\u00a0 (Applause.) And I have to join in recognizing all the folks up in the stands — the parents, siblings, friends — (applause) — so many others who have poured their love and support into these graduates every step of the way.\u00a0 Yeah, this is your day.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Your day. (Applause.)<\/p>\n
Now, on this day before Mother\u2019s Day, I\u2019ve got to give a special shout-out to all the moms here.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Yay, moms! And I want you to consider this as a public service announcement for anyone who hasn\u2019t bought the flowers or the cards or the gifts yet — all right?\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to cover you.\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 But remember that one rule is \u201ckeep mom happy.\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 All right?\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
And finally, most of all, I want to congratulate the men and women of the Tuskegee University Class of 2015!\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 T-U!<\/p>\n
AUDIENCE:\u00a0 You know!<\/p>\n
MRS. OBAMA:\u00a0 I love that.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 We can do that all day.\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 I’m so proud of you all.\u00a0 And you look good.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Well done!<\/p>\n
You all have come here from all across the country to study, to learn, maybe have a little fun along the way — from freshman year in Adams or Younge Hall — (applause) — to those late night food runs to The Coop.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 I did my research.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 To those mornings you woke up early to get a spot under The Shed to watch the Golden Tigers play.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Yeah!\u00a0 I’ve been watching!\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 At the White House we have all kinds of ways.\u00a0 (Laughter.)<\/p>\n
And whether you played sports yourself, or sang in the choir, or played in the band, or joined a fraternity or sorority — after today, all of you will take your spot in the long line of men and women who have come here and distinguished themselves and this university.<\/p>\n
You will follow alums like many of your parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles — leaders like Robert Robinson Taylor, a groundbreaking architect and administrator here who was recently honored on a postage stamp.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 You will follow heroes like Dr. Boynton Robinson — (applause) — who survived the billy clubs and the tear gas of Bloody Sunday in Selma.\u00a0 The story of Tuskegee is full of stories like theirs — men and women who came to this city, seized their own futures, and wound up shaping the arc of history for African Americans and all Americans.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019d like to begin today by reflecting on that history — starting back at the time when the Army chose Tuskegee as the site of its airfield and flight school for black pilots.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
Back then, black soldiers faced all kinds of obstacles.\u00a0 There were the so-called scientific studies that said that black men\u2019s brains were smaller than white men\u2019s.\u00a0 Official Army reports stated that black soldiers were \u201cchildlike,\u201d \u201cshiftless,\u201d \u201cunmoral and untruthful,\u201d and as one quote stated, \u201cif fed, loyal and compliant.\u201d<\/p>\n
So while the Airmen selected for this program were actually highly educated — many already had college degrees and pilots licenses — they were presumed to be inferior.\u00a0 During training, they were often assigned to menial tasks like housekeeping or landscaping.\u00a0 Many suffered verbal abuse at the hands of their instructors.\u00a0 When they ventured off base, the white sheriff here in town called them \u201cboy\u201d and ticketed them for the most minor offenses.\u00a0 And when they finally deployed overseas, white soldiers often wouldn\u2019t even return their salutes.<\/p>\n
Just think about what that must have been like for those young men.\u00a0 Here they were, trained to operate some of the most complicated, high-tech machines of their day — flying at hundreds of miles an hour, with the tips of their wings just six inches apart.\u00a0 Yet when they hit the ground, folks treated them like they were nobody — as if their very existence meant nothing.<\/p>\n
Now, those Airmen could easily have let that experience clip their wings.\u00a0 But as you all know, instead of being defined by the discrimination and the doubts of those around them, they became one of the most successful pursuit squadrons in our military.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 They went on to show the world that if black folks and white folks could fight together, and fly together, then surely — surely — they could eat at a lunch counter together.\u00a0 Surely their kids could go to school together. (Applause.)<\/p>\n
You see, those Airmen always understood that they had a \u201cdouble duty\u201d — one to their country and another to all the black folks who were counting on them to pave the way forward.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 So for those Airmen, the act of flying itself was a symbol of liberation for themselves and for all African Americans.<\/p>\n
One of those first pilots, a man named Charles DeBow, put it this way.\u00a0 He said that a takeoff was — in his words — \u201ca never-failing miracle\u201d where all \u201cthe bumps would smooth off\u2026 [you\u2019re] in the air\u2026 out of this world\u2026 free.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when he was up in the sky, Charles sometimes looked down to see black folks out in the cotton fields not far from here — the same fields where decades before, their ancestors as slaves. And he knew that he was taking to the skies for them — to give them and their children something more to hope for, something to aspire to.<\/p>\n
And in so many ways, that never-failing miracle — the constant work to rise above the bumps in our path to greater freedom for our brothers and sisters — that has always been the story of African Americans here at Tuskegee.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
Just think about the arc of this university\u2019s history.\u00a0 Back in the late 1800s, the school needed a new dormitory, but there was no money to pay for it.\u00a0 So Booker T. Washington pawned his pocket watch to buy a kiln, and students used their bare hands to make bricks to build that dorm — and a few other buildings along the way.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
A few years later, when George Washington Carver first came here for his research, there was no laboratory.\u00a0 So he dug through trash piles and collected old bottles, and tea cups, and fruit jars to use in his first experiments.<\/p>\n
Generation after generation, students here have shown that same grit, that same resilience to soar past obstacles and outrages — past the threat of countryside lynchings; past the humiliation of Jim Crow; past the turmoil of the Civil Rights era.\u00a0 And then they went on to become scientists, engineers, nurses and teachers in communities all across the country — and continued to lift others up along the way.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
And while the history of this campus isn\u2019t perfect, the defining story of Tuskegee is the story of rising hopes and fortunes for all African Americans.<\/p>\n
And now, graduates, it\u2019s your turn to take up that cause.\u00a0 And let me tell you, you should feel so proud of making it to this day.\u00a0 And I hope that you\u2019re excited to get started on that next chapter.\u00a0 But I also imagine that you might think about all that history, all those heroes who came before you — you might also feel a little pressure, you know — pressure to live up to the legacy of those who came before you; pressure to meet the expectations of others.<\/p>\n
And believe me, I understand that kind of pressure.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 I\u2019ve experienced a little bit of it myself.\u00a0 You see, graduates, I didn\u2019t start out as the fully-formed First Lady who stands before you today.\u00a0 No, no, I had my share of bumps along the way.<\/p>\n
Back when my husband first started campaigning for President, folks had all sorts of questions of me:\u00a0 What kind of First Lady would I be?\u00a0 What kinds of issues would I take on?\u00a0 Would I be more like Laura Bush, or Hillary Clinton, or Nancy Reagan?\u00a0 And the truth is, those same questions would have been posed to any candidate\u2019s spouse.\u00a0 That\u2019s just the way the process works.\u00a0 But, as potentially the first African American First Lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations; conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others.\u00a0 Was I too loud, or too angry, or too emasculating?\u00a0 (Applause.) Or was I too soft, too much of a mom, not enough of a career woman?<\/p>\n
Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover — it was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I\u2019m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit.\u00a0 It made me wonder, just how are people seeing me.<\/p>\n
Or you might remember the on-stage celebratory fist bump between me and my husband after a primary win that was referred to as a \u201cterrorist fist jab.\u201d\u00a0 And over the years, folks have used plenty of interesting words to describe me.\u00a0 One said I exhibited \u201ca little bit of uppity-ism.\u201c\u00a0 Another noted that I was one of my husband\u2019s \u201ccronies of color.\u201d\u00a0 Cable news once charmingly referred to me as \u201cObama\u2019s Baby Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n
And of course, Barack has endured his fair share of insults and slights.\u00a0 Even today, there are still folks questioning his citizenship.<\/p>\n
And all of this used to really get to me.\u00a0 Back in those days, I had a lot of sleepless nights, worrying about what people thought of me, wondering if I might be hurting my husband\u2019s chances of winning his election, fearing how my girls would feel if they found out what some people were saying about their mom.<\/p>\n
But eventually, I realized that if I wanted to keep my sanity and not let others define me, there was only one thing I could do, and that was to have faith in God\u2019s plan for me.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 I had to ignore all of the noise and be true to myself — and the rest would work itself out.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
So throughout this journey, I have learned to block everything out and focus on my truth.\u00a0 I had to answer some basic questions for myself:\u00a0 Who am I?\u00a0 No, really, who am I?\u00a0 What do I care about?<\/p>\n
And the answers to those questions have resulted in the woman who stands before you today.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 A woman who is, first and foremost, a mom.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Look, I love our daughters more than anything in the world, more than life itself. And while that may not be the first thing that some folks want to hear from an Ivy-league educated lawyer, it is truly who I am.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 So for me, being Mom-in-Chief is, and always will be, job number one.<\/p>\n
Next, I\u2019ve always felt a deep sense of obligation to make the biggest impact possible with this incredible platform.\u00a0 So I took on issues that were personal to me — issues like helping families raise healthier kids, honoring the incredible military families I\u2019d met on the campaign trail, inspiring our young people to value their education and finish college.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
Now, some folks criticized my choices for not being bold enough.\u00a0 But these were my choices, my issues.\u00a0 And I decided to tackle them in the way that felt most authentic to me — in a way that was both substantive and strategic, but also fun and, hopefully, inspiring.<\/p>\n
So I immersed myself in the policy details.\u00a0 I worked with Congress on legislation, gave speeches to CEOs, military generals and Hollywood executives.\u00a0 But I also worked to ensure that my efforts would resonate with kids and families — and that meant doing things in a creative and unconventional way.\u00a0 So, yeah, I planted a garden, and hula-hooped on the White House Lawn with kids.\u00a0 I did some Mom Dancing on TV.\u00a0 I celebrated military kids with Kermit the Frog.\u00a0 I asked folks across the country to wear their alma mater\u2019s T-shirts for College Signing Day.<\/p>\n
And at the end of the day, by staying true to the me I\u2019ve always known, I found that this journey has been incredibly freeing.\u00a0 Because no matter what happened, I had the peace of mind of knowing that all of the chatter, the name calling, the doubting — all of it was just noise.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 It did not define me.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t change who I was.\u00a0 And most importantly, it couldn\u2019t hold me back.\u00a0 I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values — and follow my own moral compass — then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.<\/p>\n
So, graduates, that\u2019s what I want for all of you.\u00a0 I want you all to stay true to the most real, most sincere, most authentic parts of yourselves.\u00a0 I want you to ask those basic questions:\u00a0 Who do you want to be?\u00a0 What inspires you?\u00a0 How do you want to give back?\u00a0 And then I want you to take a deep breath and trust yourselves to chart your own course and make your mark on the world.<\/p>\n
Maybe it feels like you\u2019re supposed to go to law school — but what you really want to do is to teach little kids.\u00a0 Maybe your parents are expecting you to come back home after you graduate — but you\u2019re feeling a pull to travel the world.\u00a0 I want you to listen to those thoughts.\u00a0 I want you to act with both your mind, but also your heart.\u00a0 And no matter what path you choose, I want you to make sure it\u2019s you choosing it, and not someone else.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
Because here\u2019s the thing — the road ahead is not going to be easy.\u00a0 It never is, especially for folks like you and me.\u00a0 Because while we\u2019ve come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn and they haven\u2019t fully gone away.\u00a0 So there will be times, just like for those Airmen, when you feel like folks look right past you, or they see just a fraction of who you really are.<\/p>\n
The world won\u2019t always see you in those caps and gowns.\u00a0 They won\u2019t know how hard you worked and how much you sacrificed to make it to this day — the countless hours you spent studying to get this diploma, the multiple jobs you worked to pay for school, the times you had to drive home and take care of your grandma, the evenings you gave up to volunteer at a food bank or organize a campus fundraiser.\u00a0 They don’t know that part of you.<\/p>\n
Instead they will make assumptions about who they think you are based on their limited notion of the world.\u00a0 And my husband and I know how frustrating that experience can be.\u00a0 We\u2019ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives — the folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety; the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores; the people at formal events who assumed we were the \u201chelp\u201d\u00a0— and those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country.<\/p>\n
And I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day — those nagging worries that you\u2019re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason; the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds; the agony of sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal; the realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen — for some folks, it will never be enough.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
And all of that is going to be a heavy burden to carry.\u00a0 It can feel isolating.\u00a0 It can make you feel like your life somehow doesn\u2019t matter — that you\u2019re like the invisible man that Tuskegee grad Ralph Ellison wrote about all those years ago.\u00a0 And as we\u2019ve seen over the past few years, those feelings are real.\u00a0 They\u2019re rooted in decades of structural challenges that have made too many folks feel frustrated and invisible.\u00a0 And those feelings are playing out in communities like Baltimore and Ferguson and so many others across this country.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
But, graduates, today, I want to be very clear that those feelings are not an excuse to just throw up our hands and give up.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Not an excuse.\u00a0 They are not an excuse to lose hope.\u00a0 To succumb to feelings of despair and anger only means that in the end, we lose.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the thing — our history provides us with a better story, a better blueprint for how we can win.\u00a0 It teaches us that when we pull ourselves out of those lowest emotional depths, and we channel our frustrations into studying and organizing and banding together — then we can build ourselves and our communities up.\u00a0 We can take on those deep-rooted problems, and together — together — we can overcome anything that stands in our way.<\/p>\n
And the first thing we have to do is vote.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hey, no, not just once in a while.\u00a0 Not just when my husband or somebody you like is on the ballot.\u00a0 But in every election at every level, all of the time.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Because here is the truth — if you want to have a say in your community, if you truly want the power to control your own destiny, then you\u2019ve got to be involved.\u00a0 You got to be at the table.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to vote, vote, vote, vote.\u00a0 That\u2019s it; that’s the way we move forward. That\u2019s how we make progress for ourselves and for our country.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what\u2019s always happened here at Tuskegee.\u00a0 Think about those students who made bricks with their bare hands.\u00a0 They did it so that others could follow them and learn on this campus, too.\u00a0 Think about that brilliant scientist who made his lab from a trash pile.\u00a0 He did it because he ultimately wanted to help sharecroppers feed their families.\u00a0 Those Airmen who rose above brutal discrimination — they did it so the whole world could see just how high black folks could soar.\u00a0 That\u2019s the spirit we\u2019ve got to summon to take on the challenges we face today.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n
And you don\u2019t have to be President of the United States to start addressing things like poverty, and education, and lack of opportunity.\u00a0 Graduates, today — today, you can mentor a young person and make sure he or she takes the right path.\u00a0 Today, you can volunteer at an after-school program or food pantry.\u00a0 Today, you can help your younger cousin fill out her college financial aid form so that she could be sitting in those chairs one day.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 But just like all those folks who came before us, you\u2019ve got to do something to lay the groundwork for future generations.<\/p>\n
That pilot I mentioned earlier — Charles DeBow — he didn\u2019t rest on his laurels after making history.\u00a0 Instead, after he left the Army, he finished his education.\u00a0 He became a high school English teacher and a college lecturer.\u00a0 He kept lifting other folks up through education.\u00a0 He kept fulfilling his \u201cdouble duty\u201d long after he hung up his uniform.<\/p>\n
And, graduates, that\u2019s what we need from all of you.\u00a0 We need you to channel the magic of Tuskegee toward the challenges of today.\u00a0 And here\u2019s what I really want you to know — you have got everything you need to do this.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got it in you. Because even if you\u2019re nervous or unsure about what path to take in the years ahead, I want you to realize that you\u2019ve got everything you need right now to succeed.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got it.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got the knowledge and the skills honed here on this hallowed campus.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got families up in the stands who will support you every step of the way.\u00a0 And most of all, you\u2019ve got yourselves — and all of the heart, and grit, and smarts that got you to this day.<\/p>\n
And if you rise above the noise and the pressures that surround you, if you stay true to who you are and where you come from, if you have faith in God\u2019s plan for you, then you will keep fulfilling your duty to people all across this country.\u00a0 And as the years pass, you\u2019ll feel the same freedom that Charles DeBow did when he was taking off in that airplane.\u00a0 You will feel the bumps smooth off.\u00a0 You\u2019ll take part in that \u201cnever-failing miracle\u201d of progress.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll be flying through the air, out of this world — free.<\/p>\n
God bless you, graduates.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to see how high you soar.\u00a0 Love you all.\u00a0 Very proud.\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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