The Importance of Black History Month
The infrastructure of the country. The bloodshed and sweat of many ancestors. The yearning for those without color to hear their pain through melodies, speeches, and actions. That’s what compelled those without power to start a chain reaction of a never-ending fight for freedom.
During Black History Month, people celebrate compelling and puissant leaders such as: Sojourner Truth, a former slave who became an abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Harriet Tubman, a runaway slave who led 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad. Claudette Colvin, the first courageous act of refusing to give her seat away reading her constitutional rights. Martin Luther King Jr., enlivening all with his “I have a dream” speech.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” King Jr. said in his famous speech.
History in the Making
Michelle Obama, also formerly known as Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, is one such idol. She was born on Jan. 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised sleeping in the living room with her older brother, Craig Robinson, with only a sheet serving as a makeshift room divider. She was taught a strong emphasis on education and self. In addition, she had already learned how to read by the age of four, also skipping the second grade.
Not only was Michelle raised with a phenomenal educational background, but when Michelle was 10, she didn’t realize that she talked differently depending on her audience. This was also formally known as “code-switching.” Stating in an interview with Robin Roberts, her cousin once asked her, ‘Why do you talk like a white girl?’. Michelle proceeded to explain how she had to grow up learning two languages.
“They believed in teaching us to think for ourselves,” Obama said as she gave gratitude to her parents for helping her build herself.
Her Legacy
Through a numerous amount of interviews, commercials, and speeches. Former First Lady Michelle Obama has impacted the United States and left a legacy much similar to those before. Relating and understanding this country to a depth that has never been reached before. Through physical health, education, and women rights. Michelle Obama is the illustration of black excellence.
“There were people who didn’t know what a black woman looked and sounded like. I knew that was going to be a challenge, that I’d have to earn my grace … People called me Barack’s baby mama. Accused me of not loving my country. Told me I was angry. That was the first time I’d really experienced someone taking my voice and balling it up and distorting it. And I was like, ‘wait, people, this isn’t who I am,'” Obama said.
