The former First Lady opened up, encourages activism beyond hashtags and posts revealing that she too feels overwhelmed by the current state of the world. “So if any of you are scared, or confused, or angry, or just plain overwhelmed by it all,if you feel like you’re searching for a lifeline just to steady yourself, you are not alone. I am feeling all of that too. I think we all are.”
Real talk from Michelle Obama #BLM
While delivering a commencement address during YouTube Originals' 'Dear Class of 2020,' the former First Lady addressed the ongoing protests following the death of George Floyd: "What's happening right now is the direct result of decades of unaddressed, prejudice, and inequality."
“Sometimes it’s easier to stand with strangers at a protest than it is to challenge someone in your own backyard."
"I am here today to talk to you, not as the former First Lady, but as a real life person, a mother, a mentor, a citizen concerned about your future and the future of our country. Because right now, all that superficial stuff of titles and positions, all of that has been stripped away. And a lot of us are reckoning with the most basic essence of who we are," Obama said.
Watch Michelle Obama's 2020 commencement speech above.