Today In Black History
Our Forever FLOTUS Michelle Obama
Issue #518 Today In Black History, Friday, March 1, 2024
Today’s Black History WOW!
Photo Credit: Harper’s Bazaar
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, to Fraser and Marian Robinson. She is a lawyer, writer, and former First Lady of the United States. She is known for her powerful advocacy on issues related to education, health, and military families.
Her father was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, while her mother stayed at home to care for Michelle and her older brother Craig. As she watched her father refuse to give in to multiple sclerosis, use two canes to get to his job, and save money to send her to college, she learned that “the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.”
Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School. In 1988, she returned to Chicago to join the firm of Sidley Austin. It was there that she met Barack Obama, a summer associate she was assigned to advise. They were married in 1992.
She was assistant commissioner of planning and development in Chicago’s City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares young people for public service. In 1996, she joined the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services, where she developed the university’s first community service program. In 2002, she went to work for the University of Chicago Medical Center, where in 2005 she became the vice president of community and external affairs. During these years the Obamas’ daughters Malia and Sasha were born.
After suffering a miscarriage, Michelle underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive their daughters Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001).
The Robinson and Shields families trace their roots to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. On her father's side, Michelle is descended from the Gullah people of South Carolina's Lowcountry region. Her paternal great-great-grandfather, Jim Robinson, was born into slavery in 1850 on Friendfield Plantation, near Georgetown, South Carolina. He became a freedman at age 15 after the war.
Her grandfather Fraser Robinson, Jr., built his own house in South Carolina.
In 2008, Michelle's life took a new turn when her husband, Barack Obama, was elected as the 44th President of the United States. As First Lady, she used her platform to champion causes close to her heart, such as promoting healthy eating and exercise through her "Let's Move!" campaign. She also focused on supporting military families and advocating for the rights of women and girls around the world.
First Lady Michelle Obama often stated the irony that the White House in which she and Barack lived for eight years was built by slaves.
During her first term as First Lady, Michelle Obama initiated Let’s Move! a program aiming to end childhood obesity within a generation. Through it, elected officials, business leaders, educators, parents, and faith leaders worked together to provide more nutritious food in schools, bring healthy and affordable food into underserved communities, plant vegetable gardens across America, and provide new opportunities for kids to be more active. Each year local schoolchildren helped plant and harvest the garden she started on the White House South Lawn. Its vegetables and fruits were served at the White House and donated to soup kitchens and food banks.
During her second term, Mrs. Obama spearheaded the Reach Higher Initiative to help students understand job opportunities and the education and skills they need for those jobs. She encouraged young people to continue their education past high school in technical schools and community colleges as well as at colleges and universities. Worldwide, she championed the education of girls and women.
Michelle Obama is also a bestselling author, with her memoir "Becoming" becoming a global sensation. In the book, she opens up about her upbringing, her time in the White House, and her ongoing commitment to making a difference in the world.
In 2020, she topped Gallup's poll of the most admired women in America for the third year. In 2021, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Michelle Obama was named Time Magazine's Woman of the Year for 2008.
Michelle Obama's next book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, was published in November 2022. In 2023, Mrs. Obama received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special nomination for her Netflix documentary film The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.
In 2019, Michelle Obama won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Becoming, and in 2023, she won another Grammy for Best Audio Book for The Light We Carry.
In November 2023, Obama was named to the BBC's 100 Women list.
Her legacy as First Lady continues to inspire people around the world. Michelle Obama’s grace, intelligence, and dedication to making the world a better place have left an indelible mark on history. She is a true role model for women and girls everywhere, showing that with hard work and determination, anything is possible.
Today In Black History
- In 1780, Pennsylvania became the first state to abolish slavery, but only for newborns.
- In 1864, Rebecca Lee graduated from the New England Female Medical College, becoming one of the first Black female physicians.
- In 1867, HBCU Howard University was chartered in Washington, D.C.
- In 1871, J. Milton Turner was named minister to Liberia, becoming the first Black diplomat to serve in an African country.
- In 1875, a Civil Rights bill enacted by Congress gave Blacks the right to equal treatment in inns, public conveyances, theaters, and other places of public amusement. The bill was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1883.
- In 1892, Black inventor Anna M. Mangin invented the pastry fork.
- In 1921, Rwanda was ceded to Great Britain.
- In 1960, San Antonio, Texas became the first major Southern city to integrate its lunch counters.
- In 1963, Carl T. Rowan was named ambassador to Finland.
- In 1967, the U.S. House of Representatives expelled New York Democratic Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
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