Staying up late writing those papers, studying for exams. (Applause.) Michelle Obama's CCNY Commencement Speech - OUT LINE Prompt: How do Michelle Obama's rhetorical choices within her speech affect the overall message? Subscribe. Shake things up. We can take on those deep-rooted problems, and together -- together -- we can overcome anything that stands in our way. (Laughter.) (Applause. I want you to listen to those thoughts. Love you all. ), Before I begin, I just want to say that my heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved Eric Marks, Jr. How are you all doing? But in the end, FDR realized that 60 percent was a whole lot better than zero percent. (Applause. Michelle Obama: (16:20) And my dad was so proud to pay that tuition bill on time each month, even taking out loans when he fell short. Let me start, of course, by thanking President Coico for that wonderful introduction, for her leadership here at City College, for this honorary degree. That kind of thinking only divides us and distracts us from our higher calling, it is the gum in the wheel of progress. We always have been. And on top of all of that, you spent thousands of hours giving back to this communitytutoring kids, playing music for seniors, serving food to folks in need, and of course, mentoring the local young people back thereI see you allthrough the Ninde Scholars Program. Because we all know that public universities have always been one of the greatest drivers of our prosperity, lifting countless people into the middle class, creating jobs and wealth all across this nation. We want everything right awaywhether its an Uber or your favorite TV showand we want it tailored to our exact preferences and beliefs. Their legacy is very much your legacy and your inheritance. (Applause.) Former First Lady Michelle Obama gave a commencement address online to the graduating class of 2020. And of all the women at the Seneca Falls womens suffrage convention in 1848, just one lived to see women cast their votes. (Applause.) Others choose to focus on their education and use that degree to address these issues and build a better life for themselves and those around them. Youll take part in that never-failing miracle of progress. (Applause.). He was a Hungarian immigrant whose harrowing escape from Nazism and communism shaped both his talent for business and his commitment to philanthropy. I think your valedictorian put it best -- and this is a quote -- he said, The sole irreplaceable component of my CCNY experience came from learning alongside people with life experiences strikingly different from my own. He said, I have learned that diversity in human experience gives rise to diversity in thought, which creates distinct ideas and methods of problem solving. That was an okay quote. Recently . The tough part is nobody has all the answers. So I want you to know that its okay to be confused. We see whats happening in stark relief. And sometimes its almost impossible to move upward at all, because if youre required to work during a pandemic, but dont have enough protective equipment or health insurance from your employer or paid sick leave, what is more essential, your work or your life. It needed to be carried, not just by the housekeeper and the shift worker, but by the senator and the congresswoman and yes the President of the United States. You all have worked so hard and come so far to reach this milestone, so I know this is a big day for all of you and your families, and for everyone at this school who supported you on this journey. Youve got it. Thats just the way the process works. Youll experience illnesses and losses, crises and setbacks that will come out of nowhere and knock you off your feet. As many of you know, I grew up in a working class family in Chicago. (Applause.). I felt it most profoundly when my father and my best friend died within a year of each other. And while were reaching out, please lets give everyone whos working toward progress space to be themselves. I could go on. (Applause.) Easily integrate Rev using our robust APIs to start building your product quickly. (Applause.) These are just four of the nearly 4,000 unique and amazing stories in this graduating class - stories that have converged here at City College, this dynamic, inclusive place where you all have had the chance to really get to know each other, to listen to each others languages, to enjoy each others food -- lasagna, obviously -- (laughter) -- music, and holidays. No, not when the earth is warming and the oceans are rising. I celebrated military kids with Kermit the Frog. And youve taken so many different paths to this moment. We see how these inequalities are playing out on our streets, and its not just the communities most affected by these challenges that see it now. (Applause. Michelle Obama: (14:05) Oberlin has separate application processes for the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music. Public education is our greatest pathway to opportunity in America. And, graduates, I really want you all to know that there is a reason why, of all of the colleges and universities in this country, I chose this particular school in this particular city for this special moment. Thank you -- thank you so much for this warm welcome, this tremendous hospitality. (Applause.) Who are the incumbents and the candidates at every level of government, not just president, but state representative, city council, prosecutors, sheriff. They knew that our policies matter. But also by the rumbling of the age old fault lines that our country was built on the lines of race and power that are now once again. (Applause.) (Laughter and applause.) FDRs plan for Social Security was called socialist, a fraud on the workingman. One opponent even stated that it would end the progress of a great country. So that debate was pretty contentious, too. (Applause.) What ideas are we missing? Thank you all. And Eric was taken from us far too soon. First lady Michelle Obama gave the commencement address to the 2015 graduating class of Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, in which she talks about growing into her official role, criticism . (Applause.). Let me just say a few thank yous. You dont get to be cynical. (Applause.) Add English on-screen subtitles for videos. Im trying to cover you. With commencements and graduations across the country cancelled, Former First Lady Michelle Obama and her Reach Higher initiative teamed up with YouTube to celebrate students reaching this. And thats, as the President said, why Im here today. And Im here because of all of you. One said I exhibited a little bit of uppity-ism. Another noted that I was one of my husbands cronies of color. Cable news once charmingly referred to me as Obamas Baby Mama.. He said that a takeoff was -- in his words -- a never-failing miracle where all the bumps would smooth off [youre] in the air out of this world free.. And as the years pass, youll feel the same freedom that Charles DeBow did when he was taking off in that airplane. In an impassioned speech to the graduating class of 2020, former First Lady Michelle Obama wished to speak to young adults as a mentor, mother and citizen who's concerned for their future. So if you want to change their minds, if you want to work with them to move this country forward, you cant just shut them out. To have you be seen, but not heard. Thank you. 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. Heres the last part. And Im honored to be here to share the beginning of the next phase of that journey with you. (Applause.) Former first lady Michelle Obama seen in her Class of 2020 commencement speech during a YouTube livestream on Sunday, June 7, 2020. If were only willing to do whats easiest, weve got to make hard choices and sacrifices in our own lives. And that is how all those infusions of new cultures and ideas, generation after generation, created the matchless alchemy of our melting pot and helped us build the strongest, most vibrant, most prosperous nation on the planet, right here. The world wont always see you in those caps and gowns. No, you dont get to be precious or cautious or cynical. Wow, you guys are good! (Applause.) They built coalitions with folks like them and different from them. 1 Michelle Obama's memoir 'Becoming' sells 2 million copies in 15 days to become bestselling book of 2018, publisher says November 30, 2018 2 Michelle Obama says her brother is still their mother's favorite, shares her post-White House bucket list November 13, 2018 3 Michelle Obama answers self-care and parenting questions in candid Q&A Search over 350 speeches by name,. And finally, most of all, I want to congratulate the Oberlin Class of 2015! I mean, weve talked about it -- Antonios, Im going to talk a little bit about diversity, thank you. Surely their kids could go to school together. Thank you. Dont be afraid. (Applause. To succumb to feelings of despair and anger only means that in the end, we lose. So, yeah, I planted a garden, and hula-hooped on the White House Lawn with kids. First Lady Michelle Obama Tuskegee University Commencement Address (C-SPAN) C-SPAN 1.18M subscribers Subscribe 2.3K 202K views 7 years ago First Lady Michelle Obama delivers the. The following is a White House transcript of first lady Michelle Obama 's speech to George Washington University graduates on Sunday . And when they finally deployed overseas, white soldiers often wouldnt even return their salutes. (Applause.) Read more. One of those first pilots, a man named Charles DeBow, put it this way. It is such a -- you all, rest yourselves. Thank you so much. You all, I mean, this has been the most fun I think Ive had at a commencement ever. (Laughter.) Michelle Obama's commencement speeches: a compendium of excerpts. You got to be at the table. (Applause. Thats just the way things are now. (Applause.) She urged the 493 members of the school's first full graduating class to give back to their communities: Sixteen million people who finally have health insurance. (Applause.) Its up to you to couple every protest with plans and policies, with organizing and mobilizing and voting and thats my final piece of advice. A few years later, when George Washington Carver first came here for his research, there was no laboratory. 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. Section 107, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Good luck on the road ahead. Many suffered verbal abuse at the hands of their instructors. So please enjoy this moment. Ask yourself, do you know where your polling place is? And Id 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. Official Army reports stated that black soldiers were childlike, shiftless, unmoral and untruthful, and as one quote stated, if fed, loyal and compliant.. Transcribe your audio files to find high-impact insights in minutes. And heres what I really want you to know -- you have got everything you need to do this. If we dislike someones Facebook post, we just un-follow them, we un-friend them. Well done! Making her debut as a commencement speaker before a crowd of 12,000 on Saturday, FIrst Lady Michelle Obama praised graduates at the University of California, Merced, the state's smallest, youngest public university. Graduates, its all important and we need every bit of it. (Applause.). Finally, graduates, our greatness has never, ever come from sitting back and feeling entitled to what we have. You represent just about every possible background - every color and culture, every faith and walk of life. So he dug through trash piles and collected old bottles, and tea cups, and fruit jars to use in his first experiments. It can feel isolating. In fact, I think Dr. Martin Luther King described it well in his commencement address in 65 when he declared, Today you bid farewell to the safe security of the academic environment. Over the years, Ive occasionally run into the noise myself. Be great. Its folks all across the country who for too long have had the luxury and privilege of looking away. Extend your content reach and maximize your engagement rates. It will be hard. To celebrate the graduates whose final years of school have been upended, former first lady Michelle Obama and former president Barack Obama are taking part in a YouTube special. Yes, amen. They wont 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. Discover why Rev is the #1 speech-to-text service in the world. And most importantly, it couldnt hold me back. I am proud to have this degree -- very proud. Dr. King was angry. First of all, it is beyond a pleasure and an honor to be here to celebrate the City College of New York Class of 2016! ), Are you planning to rally for marriage equality on the steps of the Supreme Court? I had to answer some basic questions for myself: Who am I? Graduates, you all are exactly what we need right now and for the years and decades to come, youre learning so much so quickly. Now, did these compromises make these leaders sellouts? We dont build up walls to keep people out because we know that our greatness has always depended on contributions from people who were born elsewhere but sought out this country and made it their home - from innovations like Google and eBay to inventions like the artificial heart, the telephone, even the blue jeans; to beloved patriotic songs like God Bless America, like national landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and, yes, the White House - both of which were designed by architects who were immigrants. Heres the thing, you have the opportunity to learn these valuable lessons faster than the generations before you. Her opponents declared that letting women vote was unnatural, would lead to child neglect and all kinds of social ills. And of course, Barack has endured his fair share of insults and slights. The main library in Mudd Center will be named in honor of 1884 graduate Mary Church Terrell, an educator, feminist, civil rights activist, and a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and the NAACP. Were seeing the consequences of that right now. June 3, 2016, 7:00 PM. Or consider the story of the former CEO of Intel, Andrew Grove, class of 1960. Instead, I think they knew that if they could just get everyone to take that first step, then folks would keep on moving in the right direction. Follow whats happening in your city hall, your statehouse, Washington, D.C. May 9, 2015. And Im impressed by the community that you all have created herea warm, supportive, inclusive community that embodies the values that define this school. Read the full transcript of her video message here. Read Obama's inspiring commencement address to 2020's high school graduates. MRS. OBAMA: Well, goodness. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. . Not just when my husband or somebody you like is on the ballot. In that speech, Michelle said Maya's poem, "Phenomenal Woman," "spoke to the essence of black women." "As a young woman, I needed that message," she said. MRS. OBAMA: Hi! Michelle Obama: (11:00) First Lady Michelle Obama Commencement Speech 2015 click for pdf [AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio] Thank you all. A woman who is, first and foremost, a mom. Thats the only real currency in life. No, not when many young people just like you -- the men and women we honor this Memorial Dayhave sacrificed their lives for your freedom to make your voice heard. That is how you will do your part to live up to the oath that you all will take here today - the oath taken by generations of graduates before you to make your city and your world greater, better, and more beautiful.. (Applause. I certainly hope so. 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