Former First Lady Michelle Obama has come back into the limelight, supporting people as much as she ever has before. Americans have missed her. Oh sure, we get that she will not run for president, even though Stephen Colbert begged her. Now, the country has been going through vast changes, many resulting from the coronavirus. During this time, she brings a comforting measure to those who have missed her.
Actually, the coronavirus, the televised death of Mr. George Floyd at the hands of a stone-cold white police officer, and a plummeting economy with 50 million unemployed Americans crashed together at the same time. As a result, people had no alternative but to change in order to survive. This time of uncertainty can be unnerving, because so much is new.
One aspect of our changing world is that people began to understand the immense unfairness people of color have lived beneath. Rather than going low, Michelle Obama went high as she helps lead us across the minefield of unanticipated change. We hold the words of our elegant, brilliant, strong former first lady close knowing they will imbue each of us with a piece of her strength.
Monday, Mrs. Obama tweeted kudos to her alma mater Princeton University’s Board of Trustees for voting to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from one of its schools:
‘Heartened to see my alma mater make this change, and even prouder of the students who’ve been advocating for this kind of change on campus for years. Let’s keep finding ways to be more inclusive to all students—at Princeton and at every school across the country.’
Michelle Obama shined her light on her school’s good work:
‘The #PrincetonU Board of Trustees has voted to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from the School of Public Policy and International Affairs and residential college.’
During the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards on June 28, the former first lady also celebrated its 20th anniversary with a virtual show. Within the show, celebrities Viola Davis, Jamie Fox, and Tracee Ellis Ross appeared. together to read the tragically long list of names of people who were killed, according to The Washington Post:
‘George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Trayvon Martin. Elijah McClain. Sandra Bland. Stephon Clark. Rayshard Brooks. Medgar Evers. Michael Brown. Ahmaud Arbery. Tamir Rice. Emmett Till. Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. And many more.’
Co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement Patrisse Cullors said:
‘Unfortunately, these names represent only a fraction of the black lives we’ve lost to the over 400-year-long pandemic called racism. We can’t allow this cycle of pain and oppression to continue any longer. It ends now. We will not lose.’
During the opening of the show, 12-year-old gospel singer Keedron Bryant lit up the airwaves singing his viral song I Just Wanna Live. He appeared on NBC’s The Today Show.
The lyrics were haunting:
‘I’m a young black man doing all that I can to stand / Oh, but when I look around and I see what’s being done to my kind every day, I’m being hunted as prey / My people don’t want no trouble, we’ve had enough struggle, I just wanna live, God protect me.’
For nearly three hours, the artists at the BET awards addressed the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality: Alicia Keys, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, and Chloe x Halle:
‘Host Amanda Seales started and ended the telecast by talking about Bryanna Taylor, who was shot and killed by Louisville police in her apartment: “Breonna Taylor’s killers are still walking free.”‘
Michelle Obama introduced Beyoncé, the winner of the show’s Humanitarian Award. The two have been friends for a long time. Mrs. Obama praised her friend for how she has supported young performers and brought attention to “sexism and racism:”
‘I am here today to talk about the queen. You know the one. She’s always making us all a little bit better, a little more fierce. … To my girl, I just want to say, you inspire me. You inspire all of us.’
Beyoncé took the virtual awards screen and urged everyone to “march and fight for change:”
‘I want to dedicate this award to all of my brothers out there, all of my sisters out there, inspiring, marching and fighting for change. Your voices are being heard, and you’re proving to our ancestors their struggles were not in vain. [D]ismantle a racist and unequal system. We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does.’
Twitter world caught fire, after the former First Lady Michelle Obama’s tweet about her alma mater. Take a look at what Americans had to say in response below:
Featured image is a screenshot via Twitter.
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