Michelle Obama delivering the commencement address at City College of NY.
Advertisement
In her final commencement speech as First Lady, Michelle Obama threw the most graceful subliminal jabs at Donald Trump and referred to the White House as “a house that was built by slaves”.
She made a thinly veiled reference to Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, by saying “some folks” don’t value the diversity that City College embodies. “They seem to view our diversity as a threat to be contained rather than as a resource to be tapped”, she said.
She added: “Here in America, we don’t give in to our fears”.
Talent and ambition, Michelle explained to the graduates, are not limited by race, wealth, or fame.
The First Lady concluded her last commencement address as first lady by forming a heart with her hands as she looked out into the audience.
Michelle told the graduates that they ought to beware of people who want to “build up walls to keep people out” and that the “story” of America is the story of immigrants. Her third commencement speech of the graduation season, she used the opportunity to emphasize the importance of diversity and immigration for the United States. More than 3,000 students make up the Class of 2016, according to the college.
CCNY’s class of 2016 is one of the most diverse in the nation.
Without mentioning the rhetoric coming from certain political quarters, Michelle said some folks out there today seem to have a very different perspective.
The City College of New York was the first public higher education institution in New York City and has one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation with over 40% first-generation college students, nearly 40% non-native English speakers, and half from low-income households. “I personally fought and broke a tribal tradition that destined girls of the Almansouri family in Yemen to the ‘University of Kitchen, ‘ rather than a proper education”.
The crowd was clearly aware who Obama was attacking, as it burst into applause immediately when she said America doesn’t “build up walls”.
“We see it right here in MS – just two weeks ago – how swiftly progress can hurtle backward”, Obama said, referencing a heavily criticized law that allows people to deny service to others based on religious opposition to gay and transgender rights.
Advertisement
“If he campaigns, that means I’m allowed to hit him just like I hit Bill Clinton, I guess, right?”
