In Denver speech, Michelle Obama urges women to seize their power while not hiding their scars

[demmiblue]

Source: The Denver Post

In her first public appearance in Colorado since leaving the White House, former first lady Michelle Obama had a message for women: Seize your power and don’t let go.

Sitting for an armchair conversation in front of 8,500 people, Obama was relaxed, personable and playful but still serious as she talked on a range of topics around education for girls, health and nutrition and female empowerment — all things she worked on as first lady — at the Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s 30th anniversary Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.

The crowd was a mix of young and old and predominately women. The event’s popularity forced organizers to open up more seats. Obama was greeted by an extended standing ovation and a few calls of “we love you.”

WFCO President and CEO Lauren Casteel commented that Obama broke a glass ceiling by becoming the first black first lady. She then asked which of the falling glass shards cut the deepest.

“The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut,” she said, referencing being called an ape and people talking about her bottom. “Knowing that after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who won’t see me for what I am because of my skin color.”

She said she can’t pretend like it doesn’t hurt because that lets those who do the hurting off the hook.

“Women, we endure those cuts in so many ways that we don’t even notice we’re cut,” she said. “We are living with small tiny cuts, and we are bleeding every single day. And we’re still getting up.”

But Obama said women should own their scars. Referring to failure, she said those wounds hurt deeply but they heal with time. If women own their scars, they can encourage younger girls who are getting their first cuts.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/25/michelle-obama-speech-womens-foundation-of-colorado-30th-anniversary-denver/

[Javaman]

1. oh how I miss her and her husband. nt