Michelle Obama delivered what many are calling a pitch-perfect speech last night at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. While parts of the evening were interrupted by Bernie Sanders supporters, the arena was rapt by the first lady’s address, which highlighted the primary reason voters should think carefully this fall.
Obama argued that voters should choose Hillary Clinton because she’s the best candidate to serve as a role model for children. She also touched on the progress girls and women have made in the U.S., by nature of having a woman nominated by a major party. On race, she marveled at the generations who struggled to survive so that she and her black daughters could live in the White House.
While the entire speech is worth a watch, these are the most inspiring quotes to know.
1.) Every Child Who Needs a Champion
“…but every child who needs a champion, kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs, kids who wonder how they’ll ever afford college, kids whose parents don’t speak a word of English, but dream of a better life, kids who look to us to determine who and what they can be…. Hillary has spent decades doing the relentless, thankless work to actually make a difference in their lives.”
2.) It Takes a Village
“The president is about one thing and one thing only, it’s about leaving something better for our kids. That’s how we’ve always moved this country forward, by all of us coming together on behalf of our children, folks who volunteer to coach that team, to teach that Sunday school class, because they know it takes a village.”
3.) That Glass Ceiling
“ … Leaders like Hillary Clinton who has the guts and the grace to keep coming back and putting those cracks in that highest and hardest glass ceiling until she finally breaks through, lifting all of us along with her.
4.) On Bondage and Slavery
“That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.”
5.) Guided by Love and Hope
"And as my daughters prepare to set out into the world, I want a leader who is worthy of that truth, a leader who is worthy of my girls’ promise and all our kids’ promise, a leader who will be guided every day by the love and hope and impossibly big dreams that we all have for our children."