that is the story of this country the story that has brought me to the stage tonight the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage the shame of servitude the sting of segregation but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today i wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves [Music] you hear me young people don't be afraid be focused be determined be hopeful [Music] i am a blessed child maybe i didn't have much money but i was blessed with the
love of a father and a mother who gave me gifts that were priceless and for that i owe so much so i think about that i think about making them proud i was allowed to speak my mind at three and four they asked my opinion my parents saw this flame in me that flame that would challenge my aunt robbie and speak up for myself and instead of doing what we often do to girls who are feisty which is try to put that flame out to douse it ever just so because we're worried about them not
being ladylike or to be being bossy they found a way to keep that flame lit because they knew i'd need it later on [Music] my parents didn't go to university we didn't have a lot of money they fought for me they sacrificed they saved i had an older brother who went ahead of me but it wasn't enough that he went to one of the finest universities in the country i saw him and i thought well if he can do it i can do it because i know i'm smarter than him [Music] because every time you're
the only black kid in one of those lectures halls or precept you're always you feel like you're proving yourself and that gets exhausting and you need a place you need to be able to go to the party where you'll hear music that you like where people won't be like are those braids what is that that you're doing with your [Music] hair [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] believe it or not when we were first married our combined monthly student loan bill was actually higher than our mortgage yeah we were so young so in love and so
in debt [Music] [Music] maybe you still can't believe we pulled this whole thing off let me tell you you're not the only ones michelle [Applause] michelle lavonne robinson girl of the south side my wife and mother of my children you have been my best friend [Applause] you took on a role you didn't ask for and you made it your own with grace and with grit and with style and good humor you made the white house a place that belongs to everybody today we know that we can no longer let our kids eat whatever they want
[Music] we have to change those notions that girls are only valuable for their reproductive capacity the ability to read write and analyze the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality all of that starts with education [Music] [Applause] you see in this race we we have a candidate whose vision for our country is completely and utterly lacking in hope a candidate who calls on us to turn against each other to build walls to be afraid when someone is cruel or acts like a bully you don't stoop to their level no our motto is when
they go low we go high [Music] [Applause] [Music] we're still not where we need to be in the united states of america when it comes to race you know people thought electing barack obama would end racism that's 400 years of stuff that was gonna be eliminated because eight years of this kid from hawaii are you kidding me [Music]