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Michelle Obama

144 quotes

“To Mom, Dad, Craig and all of my special friends: Thank-you for loving me and always making me feel good about myself.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community", senior thesis, Princeton University (1985), dedication ;
“My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my "Blackness" than ever before. I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my White professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong. Regardless of the circumstances under which I interact with Whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be Black first and a student second.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community", senior thesis, Princeton University (1985), p. 14-15 quoted in "Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide" by Jeffrey Ressner at Politico.com (23 February 2008)
“By actually working with the Black lower class or within their communities as a result of their ideologies, a separationist may better understand the desparation [sic] of their situation and feel more hopeless about a resolution as opposed to an integrationist who is ignorant to [sic] their plight.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community", senior thesis, Princeton University (1985), p. 112
“One of the things — the important aspects of this race — is role modeling what good families should look like. Our view was that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech Speech at a Women for Obama rally, Chicago (August 2007). (YouTube video)
“I am desperate for change — now — not in 8 years or 12 years, but right now. We don’t have time to wait. We need big change — not just the shifting of power among insiders. We need to change the game, because the game is broken. When I think about the country I want to give my children, it’s not the world we have now. All I have to do is look into the faces of my children, and I realize how much work we need to do.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Campaign speech, quoted in "First Lady in Waiting" by Leslie Bennetts in Vanity Fair Web exclusive (27 December 2007)
“Barack is one of the smartest men we will see in our lifetime.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Campaign rally, Las Vegas, Nevada (17 January 2008)
“You can't handle goody bags. Let me explain the goody bag thing. You have to go into the party store and choose the bags. Then you have to choose what to put in the bags, and what is in the boys' bags has to be different from what is in the girls' bags. You'd walk in there and wander around the aisles for an hour, and then your head would explode.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To Barack Obama, as quoted in The Audacity of Hope (2006), by Barack Obama
“We need to fix our souls. Our souls are broken in this nation. We have lost our way. And it begins with inspiration. It begins with leadership.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Campaign rally, Los Angeles, California (3 February 2008)
“What we've learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something — for the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment. I've seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues, and it's made me proud.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Campaign rally, Madison, Wisconsin, CSPAN: Campaign 2008 (18 February 2008)
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Campaign rally, Madison, Wisconsin (18 February 2008)
“He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Campaign rally at UCLA, quoted in "It’s All About Him" by William Kristol in The New York Times (25 February 2008)
“Translating hope into action is something Barack has done for his entire career.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to The Advocate (21 October 2008)
“Ich höre, er ist ein eindrucksvoller Typ. Ein großartiger Redner. Ein Juraprofessor. Ein Bestsellerautor. Und ein Grammy-Gewinner. Bewundernswert! Doch wie bringe ich das in Einklang mit dem Typen, der bei mir zu Hause lebt? - About her husband Barack Obama, www.focus.de, (26 May 2008)”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Barack has led by example. When we took our trip to Africa and visited his home country in Kenya, we took a public HIV test—for the very point of showing folks in Kenya that there is nothing to be embarrassed about in getting tested.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee in New York City (June 2008), quoted in "Did Michelle say Barack born in Kenya?" by Jerome R. Corsi, WND.com (5 April 2010). Michelle s…
“[Barack's] always asking: "Is that new? I haven’t seen that before." It’s like, why don’t you mind your own business? Solve world hunger. Get out of my closet.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: New York Times Interview (20 March 2009)
“The thing that I want you all to remember: please, please, don’t base your vote, this time, on fear. Base it on possibility. Think. Listen. The game of politics is to make you afraid so that you don’t think. And what we need right now isn’t political rhetoric, it isn’t game-playing. We need leadership; we need people with judgment; we need decent people, people with common sense, people with strong family values. People who understand the world.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have this window of opportunity; we have a chance to make something real happen. Something possible happen, to live beyond our fear — think about that, and help us. Help lift us up, help us fight this fight to change — transform — this country in a fundamental way. This chance won’t come around again.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We’re going to have to dig deep into our souls, confront our own self-doubt, and recognize that our destiny is in our hands – that our future is what we make of it. So let’s build the future we all know is possible. Let’s prove to our children that they really can reach for their dreams.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Are we ready to believe in the power of our own voices? Are we ready to cast aside our fear and cynicism? Are we ready to work our hearts out to make our dream a reality? Are we ready to overcome? If we are truly ready, then now is the time. This one’s on us. We cannot afford to wait. We cannot afford to doubt. We cannot afford to make excuses. We have this moment of opportunity. And we need to seize it.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m asking you to believe in yourselves. I’m asking you to stop settling for the world as it is, and to help us make the world as it should be.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As you might imagine, for Barack, running for president is nothing compared to that first game of basketball with my brother, Craig.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can't tell you how much it means to have Craig and my mom here tonight. Like Craig, I can feel my dad looking down on us, just as I've felt his presence in every grace-filled moment of my life. At 6-foot-6, I've often felt like Craig was looking down on me too … literally. But the truth is, both when we were kids and today, he wasn't looking down on me. He was watching over me.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend. I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world — they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future — and all our children's future — is my stake in this election.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early 30s, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. As he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing — even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier and worked a little harder.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher. People like Joe Biden, who's never forgotten where he came from and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Millions of Americans who know that Barack understands their dreams; that Barack will fight for people like them; and that Barack will finally bring the change we need.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So tonight, in honor of my father's memory and my daughters' future — out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week, and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment — let us devote ourselves to finishing their work; let us work together to fulfill their hopes; and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama president of the United States of America.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“See, my parents didn't go to college, but they were determined to give us that opportunity. My dad was a pump operator at the city water plant, diagnosed with MS in his early thirties. And every morning I watched him struggle to get out of bed and inch his way to his walker, and painstakingly button his uniform, but never once did I hear him complain. Not once. He just kept getting up, day after day, year after year, to do whatever he could to give our family a better shot at life.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks at Bowie State University ceremony (17 May 2013)
“And then there’s this guy, Barack Obama, who lost – I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures, but – he lost his first race for Congress, and now he gets to call himself my husband…”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Michelle Obama Tells Grads: ‘I Could Take Up a Whole Afternoon Talking About’ Barack Obama’s Failures", in CNSNews (20 May 2013)
“Every day, you have the power to choose our better history — by opening your hearts and minds, by speaking up for what you know is right, by sharing the lessons of Brown versus Board of Education, the lessons you learned right here in Topeka, wherever you go for the rest of your lives.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted on Yahoo News!, "First lady tells Kansas students to fight bias" (16 May 2014)
“We know that today in America, too many folks are still stopped on the street because of the color of their skin, or they're made to feel unwelcome because of where they come from, or they're bullied because of who they love. As you go forth, when you encounter folks who still hold the old prejudices because they've only been around folks like themselves, when you meet folks who think they know all the answers because they've never heard any other viewpoints, it's up to you to help them see things differently.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted on Yahoo News!, "First lady tells Kansas students to fight bias" (16 May 2014)
“See, the truth is that if Princeton hadn’t found my brother as a basketball recruit, and if I hadn’t seen that he could succeed on a campus like that, it never would have occurred to me to apply to that school — never. And I know that there are so many kids out there just like me — kids who have a world of potential, but maybe their parents never went to college or maybe they’ve never been encouraged to believe they could succeed there.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statements proceeding introduction of husband at College Opportunity Summit (16 January 2014)
“When I first arrived at school as a first-generation college student, I didn’t know anyone on campus except my brother. I didn’t know how to pick the right classes or find the right buildings. I didn’t even bring the right size sheets for my dorm room bed. I didn’t realize those beds were so long. So I was a little overwhelmed and a little isolated.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statements proceeding introduction of husband at College Opportunity Summit (16 January 2014)
“I would be very present in his life right now. I would be probably with him a good chunk of the time, just there to talk, to figure out what's going on in his head, to figure out who's in his life and who's not, you know.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On what she would do in the place of Justin Bieber's mother (10 February 2014)
“A lot of young people think they're invincible, but the truth is young people are knuckleheads.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: During appearance on "Tonight Show" (21 February 2014)
“Now young people can get insurance for as little as $50 a month, less than the cost of gym shoes.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: During appearance on "Tonight Show" (21 February 2014)
“Today we’re celebrating the kind of music that makes you move no matter who you are or where you come from; music that taps into feelings and experiences that we all share — love and heartbreak, pride and doubt, tragedy and triumph. It is called soul music.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statements at "I'm every woman: The History of Women in Soul" event (06 March 2014)
“Sometimes it makes your hips move. Sometimes it makes you rock your head. Sometimes it helps you just kick back and relax and soak it in. But no matter what form it comes in, you know this music always comes straight from the heart. You know you’re listening to someone who’s found her own unique voice, and isn’t afraid to show it to the world. And these women are perfect examples of just that.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statements at "I'm every woman: The History of Women in Soul" event (06 March 2014)
“Every time I meet a child I think, who knows what’s going on in her life, whether she was just bullied or whether she had a bad day at school or whether she lost a parent — that interaction that we have with that individual, that child for that moment, could change their life … so we can’t waste this spotlight. It is temporary and life is short, and change is needed. And women are smarter than men.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking at a women's forum at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, alongside former first lady Laura Bush, as quoted in "Michelle Obama: ‘Women are smarter than men’" in The Washington Times (6 August 2014)
“To all the young women here tonight, and all across the country, let me say those words again: Black girls rock! We rock! We rock! No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you are beautiful, you are powerful, you are brilliant, you are funny! Let me tell you, I'm so proud of you. My husband, your president, is so proud of you. And we have such big hopes and dreams for every single one of you.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at BET's 2015 Black Girls Rock! event (28 March 2015)
“When I look out at all these young women, I see myself. In so many ways your story is my story.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Prince Harry has Tea with Michelle Obama at Kensington Palace" in Parade (16 June 2015); also in "Michelle Obama UK visit: 'When I look at young British Muslim women, I see myself'" by Mikey Smit, Mirror O…
“I wake up in a house that was built by slaves.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks by the First Lady at City College of New York Commencement (3 June 2016); quoted in "Michelle Obama: Every Day, 'I Wake Up in a House That Was Built by Slaves'" by Jeremy Hudson, Breitbart (4 June 2016)
“The size of our hips, our style, our swag, it becomes co-opted but then we are demonised... My advice to young women is that you have to start by getting those demons out of your head. The questions I ask myself — "am I good enough?" — that haunts us, because the messages that are sent from the time we are little is: maybe you are not, don't reach too high, don't talk too loud.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (3 December 2018)
“Here is the secret: I have been at probably every powerful table that you can think of — I have worked at non-profits, I have been at foundations, I have worked in corporations, served on corporate boards, I have been at G-summits, I have sat in at the UN — they are not that smart.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (3 December 2018)
“Over the past few years as First Lady, I have had the extraordinary privilege of traveling all across this country.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source