During the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago’s United Center, former first lady Michelle Obama encouraged attendees and viewers with a 20-minute speech on perseverance, hard-work, and, most importantly, hope.
In the few weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she was running for president, there has been revitalized hope among voters in the Democratic Party. Following the spark that Harris lit with her announcement, several groups have stepped up to pledge their support. Win With Black Women was the first organization to host a call to mobilize voters in support of the Harris campaign. With 44,000 attendees on a Zoom call, Black women raised over $1.6 million within three hours. In the days that followed, other groups, including Black men and white women, followed suit, paving the way for the Kamala Harris’ campaign to shatter the fundraising record, by raising over $81 million in 24 hours.
“As we embrace this renewed sense of hope, let us not forget the despair we have felt. Let us not forget what we are up against,” Obama said. “No matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day. This is going to be an uphill battle.”
The former first lady was voicing a reality that many Black people know all too well. It sits at the center of one of the many infamous scenes from Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal.” After news breaks about Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope having an affair with Tony Goldwyn’s Fitzgerald Grant, her on-screen father Joe Morton’s Eli Pope is making arrangements for her to disappear. Before he forces her on the plane, he chastises her for her decision. The result is a monologue that continues to resonate with viewers.
“Did I not raise you for better?” he questioned. “How many times have I told you, you have to be … twice as good as them to get half of what they have.”
The phrase that Eli Pope engrained in his daughter echoed throughout the former first lady’s speech. She encouraged the fired-up crowd to keep fighting because the work is far from over.
“Most of us will never be afforded the grace of falling forward,” Obama said. “We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance. If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. We don’t get to change the rules so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. We put out heads down. We get to work. In America, we do something.”
She encouraged those in the United Center and around the world to use their fight to fuel their hope. She urged listeners to advocate for themselves, fight for their own freedoms and aim high. Obama encouraged people to never go small. Instead, she urged people to reclaim their voice and to fight for their freedom. Obama ignited hope in the crowd and around the world, giving them something to hold onto in the hard road ahead.
“Going small is never the answer,” Obama said. “Going small is the opposite of what we teach our kids.”
Obama encouraged everyone to aim high and to look forward to a better future. She urged everyone to be the change that they wanted to see and advocate for the future generations. She told people to use the blueprint left behind by people, like her and Harris’ mother, to push forward.
“[Donald Trump’s] limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated successful people who happened to be Black,” she said to a cheering crowd. “I want to know who’s going to tell him that the job he is currently seeking might be one of those Black jobs.”