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Her husband had shied away from discussing his African
heritage in his own remarks to the 500 Africans finishing a
six-week Washington leadership fellowship on Monday, referencing
his Kenyan father only once and in the question-and-answer
session. But Michelle Obama said as an African American woman,
her discussion with the African youth was “deeply personal.”
“The roots of my family tree are in Africa,” the first lady told
the cheering crowd. “My husband’s father was born and raised in
Kenya. Members of our extended family still live there. I have
had the pleasure of traveling to Africa many times over the
years, including four trips as first lady, and I have brought my
mother and my daughters along whenever I can.”
“The blood of Africa runs through my veins, and I care deeply,”
Obama said, addressing her listeners as her “brothers” and
“sisters.”
Three months before congressional elections that could determine
the fate of much of President Obama’s platform, Michelle Obama’s
popularity remains high while her husband’s has sunk.
The White House is making women’s empowerment a theme in a
Washington African leaders summit next week. Michelle Obama said
problems with girls’ education often stemmed from traditional
“attitudes and beliefs” that exist even in the United States and
lead to issues such as the gender pay gap and an
underrepresentation of women in leadership.
She said men worldwide needed to “look into their hearts and
souls and ask if they truly view women as their equals.”
“I am who I am today because of the people in my family,
particularly the men in my family, who valued me and invested in
me from the day I was born,” Obama said.
“And as I grew up, the men who raised me set a high bar for the
type of men I’d allow into my life - which is why I went on to
marry a man who had the good sense to fall in love with a woman
who was his equal, to treat me as such - a man who supports and
reveres me, and who supports and reveres our daughters as well,”
Obama said.
(Reporting by Annika McGinnis; editing by Andrew Hay)
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Michelle
Obama says the 'blood of Africa' runs through her veins
