Michelle Obama Says Too Many Black Children Want to Be Rappers & Ballers

By: Taren Vaughan

Michelle Obama’s Bowie State commencement address was one that our First Lady gave in front of the excited Bowie State University graduating class of 2013 as they celebrated their special day amongst faculty, family and friends. And the speech that she gave was indeed a powerful one as Michelle Obama, very much like her husband President Barack Obama, has a true way with words and is known for giving unforgettable speeches that will always be remembered. 600 lucky graduates from Bowie State University got the chance to see her live in action for their commencement ceremony that took place on Friday. During her speech, Mrs. Obama spoke on the fact that many years ago, blacks were not allowed to educate themselves, drilling home the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities that we have today to learn and prosper academically, Mrs. Obama also praising the courage and drive of the Little Rock Nine:

“Just think about this for a moment — for generations, in many parts of this country, it was illegal for black people to get an education. Slaves caught reading or writing could be beaten within an inch of their lives.”

Michelle Obama also mentioned the high dropout rate for African American students and the low college enrollment numbers for blacks and said that a lot of those from the younger generation don’t have realistic goals for themselves:

“Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV. Instead of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper.”

She challenged the graduating class to have the same amount of drive and hunger for education that those before them had and to get over the idea that Black children who read books and educate themselves “act white”, Mrs. Obama offering a solid reminder that they not only need to fight for their education, but for their children’s education too:

“We need to start feeling that hunger again. We need to once again fight to educate ourselves and our children like our lives depend on it, because they do.”

The First Lady also spoke on the benefits of a higher education in terms of income  as individuals with college degrees earn more than those who just have a high school diploma and that gaining knowledge is beneficial to your overall health.

Check out the clip of the powerful commencement speech that First Lady Michelle Obama gave below: