Michelle Obama Addresses Tuskegee University Graduates [Things Never Easy for People Like Us]

[mystery-ak]

http://www.newsmax.com/PrintTemplate.aspx/?nodeid=643688


Newsmax
Michelle Obama Addresses Tuskegee University Graduates
Saturday, May 9, 2015 07:30 PM

By: By KIM CHANDLER

Michelle Obama on Saturday invoked the storied history of Tuskegee University as she urged new graduates to soar to their futures, saying the past provides a blueprint for a country still struggling with the "age-old problems" of discrimination and race.

The first lady gave the commencement address at the historically black university in Alabama. Obama described how the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed first African-American pilots of World War II, endured humiliating slights as they shattered racial stereotypes about the capabilities of black men and how the university's students in the 1800's made bricks by hand to construct campus buildings so future generations could study there.

"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. 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," Obama said.

The defining story of Tuskegee is the story of rising hopes and fortunes for all African Americans. And now, graduates, it's your turn to take up that cause," Obama said of the university founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington.

The first lady, taking head on the issue of racial discrimination, mentioned the strife that has occurred in Baltimore and Ferguson — and the slights she and the president have endured — as she addressed the school's 500 mostly African-American graduates.

"The road ahead is not going to be easy. It never is, especially for folks like you and me. Because while we've come so far, the truth is those age-old problems are stubborn, and they haven't fully gone away," Obama said.

The first lady said she and President Barack Obama have dealt with the sting of daily slights through their entire lives. "The people at formal events who assumed you were the help and those that have questioned our intelligence, our honesty and even our love of this country."

She said those little indignities are minimal compared to "nagging worries that you are going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason" or the "agony of sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal."

Obama said the frustration is "rooted in decades of structural challenges that have made too many folks feel frustrated and invisible. And those feelings are playing out in communities like Baltimore and Ferguson and so many others across this country." But those frustrations are not an excuse to give in to despair and anger, Obama said.

She said history provides a "blueprint" for moving forward through politics and voting and education.

"Those Airmen, who rose above brutal discrimination, they did it so the world could see just how high black folks could soar. That's the spirit we've got to summon to take on the challenges we face today," Obama said.

Like the students who made bricks so future generations could attend college, Obama challenged students to do their part, mentoring children, volunteering at food banks and after-school programs and helping others achieve their college dreams.

Obama became the second first lady to visit the private school. Eleanor Roosevelt was the first in 1941, when she flew with a black Army pilot to show support for the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

A crowd of nearly 4,000 heard the first lady's remarks during graduation. Tickets were largely limited to family members of the 500 graduates. Sarah Jordan, 21, had her mortar board emblazoned with "Law School Bound" and decorated in shiny pink and black. The Pasadena native is headed back to California for law school after getting her English degree Saturday.

"This is such a dream come true for me to have her here. She's a role model for everyone," Jordan said. "It means everything especially because I am an aspiring lawyer. I definitely look up to her," Jordan said. Obama is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

The first lady described the anxiety and criticism she initially endured over crafting her role as first lady, and how she learned to put it aside. She said a cable news program once called her "Obama's Baby Mama" and that her self-described primary job as Mom might not be what some want to hear from an Ivy League-educated lawyer.

She urged graduates to likewise put aside negative voices and stay true to themselves and their dreams in deciding their paths.

"No matter what path you choose, I want to make sure that it is you choosing it and not someone else," Obama said.

The Tuskegee speech is one of three commencement addresses Obama will give this spring. The first lady last visited Alabama in March. She accompanied President Obama and their two daughters to Selma for the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march.

[PzLdr]

"... folks like you and me". Coming from this race hustler with a chip on her shoulder the size of a redwood, this is news?

[240B]

I's is be being a first woman!

Yall's can be being good too!

[mountaineer]

Those fools in the White House won't be content until the racial divide in this country is wider than the Grand Canyon.

[Free Vulcan]

Would you like some cheese with that whine there Michelle? Goodness, it's not 1945, or even 1965 or '85. If you walk around with the attitude of a chump punk, you're going to see slights everywhere.

[kevindavis007]

Life is never easy..

[240B]

Wasn't it Oprah who claimed she was racially profiled because an elderly woman asked her to help get a bag off a high shelf?

Blacks in America are so coddled, they are like 'rage boy', and there is no possible way to appease them. They are perpetually angry, perpetually aggrieved, and there is no solution.

Here you have a Black FLOTUS, and still, still, still, claiming that America is a racist country. These guys should go somewhere else if they want to see 'racism'. Go to Mexico and start shouting "Black Power!", and see how that goes over. And that applies equally to Russia, China, or anywhere else.

Idiots cannot understand how good they have it.

But their 'victim-hood', is their power, and therefore they will never give it up. No matter what you do, no matter what happens, it will never be enough. The last thing the Black militants want is to be treated as 'equals'. That would blow the whole game. They want to be perpetual 'victims' who need special treatment. That is their advantage.

[Fishrrman]

240b wrote above:
[[ But their 'victim-hood', is their power, and therefore they will never give it up. No matter what you do, no matter what happens, it will never be enough. The last thing the Black militants want is to be treated as 'equals'. That would blow the whole game. They want to be perpetual 'victims' who need special treatment. That is their advantage. ]]

That advantage is going to be wiped out if and when Hispanics become the majority in this country.

They have no "white guilt", and they're not going to put up with black behavior.

They will turn a deaf ear to "black victimhood"

Their response to blacks will be simple: "Get a job, like we did".

[rangerrebew]

- The Daily Caller - http://dailycaller.com -



Luxurious Life As First Lady Takes Toll On Michelle Obama Because She Is Black, She Complains

Posted By Eric Owens On 11:26 PM 05/10/2015 In | No Comments

 Globetrotting, Ivy League-educated, Marchesa gown-wearing first lady Michelle Obama’s commencement address at Tuskegee University on Saturday described the trials and tribulations she believes she has faced as the first black first lady in American history.

The intense media scrutiny, occasional critical and disparaging remarks — it’s all too much and she said it has led to sleepless nights either in the White House or in posh, five-star hotels where she and her retinue stay, according to The Hill.

“You might remember the on-stage celebratory fist bump between me and my husband after a primary win that was referred to as a ‘terrorist fist jab,'” she told graduates of the private, historically black science- and engineering-heavy school in Alabama.

“And over the years, folks have used plenty of interesting words to describe me. One said I exhibited ‘a little bit of uppity-ism,'” Obama said. “Another noted that I was one of my husband’s ‘cronies of color.’ Cable news once charmingly referred to me as ‘Obama’s Baby Mama.'”

 
The international jetsetter, a graduate of both Princeton University and Harvard Law School, also complained that she feels she endured a set of expectations during her husband Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign that was different than the expectations for other would-be presidential wives. (RELATED: Remember When Obama Was The Messiah?)

Specifically, she believes the questions she faced as a potential first lady were overly invasive.

“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. Was I too loud, or too angry, or too emasculating? Or was I too soft, too much of a mom, not enough of a career woman?” Obama said, according to The Hill.

Obama said she and her husband, the president of the United States and arguably the most powerful man in the world, have faced “frustrating” racism, which is “a heavy burden to carry.”
 
 

“We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives,” she griped.

Obama additionally observed that the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary regiment of black World War II pilots, faced degrading racial insults but overcame the racial mistreatment to achieve heroism.

The first lady urged Tuskegee University graduates never “to succumb to feelings of despair and anger.”

Along with President Obama and the couple’s two children (and occasionally her mother), Michelle Obama has made sure to spend plenty of taxpayer dollars on an impressive run of sweet luxury vacations.

In January, the president and first lady Michelle Obama traveled at taxpayer expense to beautiful, exotic India. The trip included a romantic visit to the Taj Mahal, perhaps the world’s most famous architectural testament of love — a gleaming, white marble mausoleum constructed under the orders of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. (RELATED: Obama To Show Michelle Taj Mahal)

Back in March 2014, the whole Obama clan faced the prospect of cutting a mini-vacation in sunny Key Largo, Fla. short because of Russia’s meddling in Ukraine. It was sad, too, because the first family wanted some rest and relaxation away from the cold, snowy doldrums of Washington, D.C. (RELATED: OH NO! Obama May Have To Cut Third Vacation THIS YEAR Short Because Of Ukraine)

That same month, Michelle Obama and the first daughters Malia and Sasha jetted off to China for over a week of much-needed sightseeing. (RELATED: Globetrotting Michelle Obama Announces Luxurious Vacation To China)

As of July 2014, the Obama family had already spent a whopping $44,351,777.12 in taxpayer funds on vacations. That dollar amount is obviously substantially higher now. (RELATED: The Obamas Have Spent Over $44 Million In Taxpayer Cash On Travel)

In 2008, then-candidate Obama promised gullible New York Times columnist Bob Herbert that he would not take vacations if he were elected president. (VIDEO FLASHBACK: Obama Promises No Vacations For Himself As President)

Follow Eric on Twitter. Like Eric on Facebook. Send education-related story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.



Article printed from The Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com

URL to article: http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/10/luxurious-life-as-first-lady-takes-toll-on-michelle-obama-because-she-is-black-she-complains/

[EC]

Forum competition: Which cheese would you pair with this whine?

"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," she told the class of 2015. "Was I too loud or too emasculating? Or was I too soft? Too much of a mom and not enough of a career woman?"

Obama referenced the cover of the July 2008 issue of The New Yorker, in which Obama was depicted with her husband as terrorist enemies of the United States.

"Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover. It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I'm really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder 'just how are people seeing me?'"

In her nearly 30-minute speech, the first lady recalled other particularly tough moments, including being referred to on Fox News as her "husband's crony of color" and "Obama's baby mama." She also recalled a moment on the campaign trail when she gave her husband a fist bump to celebrate a primary win, later to be referred to by an anchor on that network as a "terrorist fist jab."

"Back in those days, I had a lot of sleepless nights worrying what people thought of me," she recalled. Obama added that she let the criticism get to the point where she would wonder if she was hurting her husband's chances of becoming President, while also fearing what her daughters would think.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/09/politics/michelle-obama-commencement-tuskegee-university/index.html

[mystery-ak]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/241553-michelle-obama-speaks-of-emotional-toll-of-being-first-black
Michelle Obama speaks of emotional toll of being first black first lady

[mystery-ak]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/11/michelle-obama-complains-about-comments-from-fox-news-michelle-malkin-rudy-giuliani-and-rush-limbaugh/

Michelle Obama Complains About Comments From Fox News, Michelle Malkin, Rudy Giuliani and Rush Limbaugh

by Charlie Spiering11 May 201533

With less than two years left in the White House, Michelle Obama is taking time to respond to her critics, accusing them of treating her differently because she is the first African-American First Lady.

She made her remarks during a commencement speech at Tuskegee University over the weekend, comparing her experience as the wife of the first African-American president to the experiences of historical civil-rights leaders.

The First Lady recalled her experience on the campaign trail, accusing the media of giving her unique attention thanks to the “fears and misperceptions of others” who questioned whether she was “too loud, or too angry, or too emasculating.”

She alluded to Fox News personalities discussing her “terrorist fist jab” and referring to her on-screen as “Obama’s baby mama” as well as Rush Limbaugh suggesting that she had “a little bit of uppityism” thanks to her nanny state food polices.

Mrs. Obama also referred to Michelle Malkin’s book “Culture of Corruption” in which she described the First Lady as one of Obama’s “cronies of color.”

“All of this used to really get to me,” she admitted, referring to a lot of “sleepless nights” on the campaign trail because she was “worrying about what people thought of me, wondering if I might be hurting my husband’s chances of winning his election, fearing how my girls would feel if they found out what some people were saying about their mom.”

She explained that over time, she learned to handle the increased scrutiny of her words and actions and focus on her own expectations.

“At the end of the day, by staying true to the me I’ve always known, I found that this journey has been incredibly freeing,” she said. “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. It did not define me. It didn’t change who I was. And most importantly, it couldn’t hold me back.”

Obama also reminded the audience there were still people questioning her husband’s citizenship, and that he experienced his own “insults and slights” as a result of people’s “limited notion of the world.”

“My husband and I know how frustrating that experience can be,” she said. “We’ve 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 ‘help’ – and those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country.”

(That last reference likely reserved for Rudy Giuliani).

After detailing her list of indignities suffered as a First Lady, Michelle Obama admitted that these slights paled in comparisons to those who still suffered as a result of their race – referring to racial discrimination that still existed amongst police officers, employers, and teachers in schools.

“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’re 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,” she explained.

She specifically addressed the events in Baltimore and Ferguson, explaining to critics that the racial discrimination cited in these cases was real.

“As we’ve seen over the past few years, those feelings are real. They’re rooted in decades of structural challenges that have made too many folks feel frustrated and invisible,” she said.

But she also warned students from letting racial mistreatment be an “excuse” for failing to reach their full potential.

“I want to be very clear that those feelings are not an excuse to just throw up our hands and give up,” she said. “Not an excuse. They are not an excuse to lose hope. To succumb to feelings of despair and anger only means that in the end, we lose.”

As a result of following her own heart and her own dreams, she explained, she was able to live up to her own expectations, in spite of criticism from others.

“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,” she said.

[alicewonders]

You would think black people would be sick of her whining by now.  Especially all of the middle and upper class blacks, the successful ones - and there are many!  Her racial pandering negates all of the hard work they have done to get where they are.  I would like to see some of them come out and put her in her place.

In her position, she could be such a wonderful mentor to young black people - but instead, she is stirring the $hit.

[240B]

So true. Instead of being upbeat and grateful for all she has, instead she goes into this racially divisive refrain. Whitey is bad. Whitey is mean. Whitey is racist.

Then, like her husband does every time, she directs the speech back to herself, of course. Her struggles, her problems, the bad names they called me, and on and on.

What a waste. Her and her husband are both so egocentric that they seem incapable of thinking about or talking about anything but themselves.

What a wasted opportunity from these two to overcome and heal any remaining racial issues in America. Instead, they poured gasoline on them and relit it all over again.

It is exactly what I have come to expect from this crew, and they are not going to change. It is a shame. All we can do is wait it out and try to repair all of their damage after they are gone.