Michelle Obama's Journey # 1

"Since stepping reluctantly into public life, I've been held up as the most powerful woman in the world and taken down as an 'angry black woman.'"

(preface x)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Early Life # 2

"My father, Fraser, taught me to work hard, laugh often, and keep my word. My mother, Mirian, showed me how to think for myself and to use my voice."

(preface x-xi)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Early Life # 3

"Together, in our cramped apartment on the South Side of Chicago, they helped me see the value in our story, in my story, in the larger story of our country. Even when it's not pretty or perfect. Even when it's more real than you want it to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have, It is something to own."

(preface xi)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Journey # 4

"There was days I felt suffocated by the fact that our windows has to be kept shut for security, that I couldn't get some fresh air without causing a fuss."

(preface xi)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Early Life # 5

"My family lived in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, in a tidy brick bungalow that belonged to Robbie and her husband, Terry. My Parents rented and apartments on the second floor, while Robbie and Terry lived on the first.     

                                                                                          (page 1)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Early Life # 6

"But it wasn't until the letters W-H-I-T-E came up that I froze altogether, my throat instantly dry, my mouth awkward and unable to shape the sound as my brain glitched madly, trying to dig up a color that resembled 'wuh-haaa.'"

                                                                                               (page 18)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Speeches # 7

"'NO COUNTRY CAN EVER TRULY FLOURISH IF IT STIFLES THE POTENTIAL OF ITS WOMEN.'

                                             - Summit of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, July 20, 2014"

                                                                                          (page 35)

Sweeney, M. Go High: The Unstoppable Presence and Poise of Michelle Obama. Castle Point Books, St. Martin's Press, 2019.

Michelle Obama's Speeches # 8

"'THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BROKEN COMMUNITY AND A THRIVING ONE IS THE PRESENCE OF WOMEN WHO ARE VALUED.'

                                         - State Department Women of Courage Award, March 11, 2009"

                                                                                               (page 44)

Sweeney, M. Go High: The Unstoppable Presence and Poise of Michelle Obama. Castle Point Books, St. Martin's Press, 2019.

Michelle Obama's Speeches # 9

"'That is THE STORY OF THIS COUNTRY... the story of GENERATION 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 - laying with their dogs on the White House lawn.'

                                       - Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016"

                                                                                (page 84)

Sweeney, M. Go High: The Unstoppable Presence and Poise of Michelle Obama. Castle Point Books, St. Martin's Press, 2019.

Michelle Obama's Speeches # 10

"Now that I’m an adult, I realize that kids know at a very young age when they’re being devalued, when adults aren’t invested enough to help them learn. Their anger over it can manifest itself as unruliness. It’s hardly their fault. They aren’t “bad kids.” They’re just trying to survive bad circumstances."      

                                                                                  (page 22)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Career # 11 

"He’d been promptly picked up by a police officer who accused him of stealing it, unwilling to accept that a young black boy would have come across a new bike in an honest way. (The officer, an African American man himself, ultimately got a brutal tongue-lashing from my mother, who made him apologize to Craig.) What had happened, my parents told us, was unjust but also unfortunately common. The color of our skin made us vulnerable. It was a thing we’d always have to navigate."        

                                          (page 25)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Speeches # 12

"Your passion stays low, yet under no circumstance will you underperform. You live, as you always have, by the code of effort/result, and with it you keep achieving until you think you know the answers to all the questions—including the most important one. Am I good enough? Yes, in fact I am."

                                                                                      (page 92)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Career # 13

"But listening to Barack, I began to understand that his version of hope reached far beyond mine: It was one thing to get yourself out of a stuck place, I realized. It was another thing entirely to try and get the place itself unstuck."

                                                                                      (page 117-118)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Relationship # 14

"I informed Barack that if our relationship was going to work, he’d better get comfortable with the phone. “If I’m not talking to you,” I announced, “I might have to find another guy who’ll listen.” I was joking, but only a little."

                                                                                      (page 119)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Career # 15

"I had never been one to hold city hall in high regard. Having grown up black and on the South Side, I had little faith in politics. Politics had traditionally been used against black folks, as a means to keep us isolated and excluded, leaving us undereducated, unemployed, and underpaid. I had grandparents who’d lived through the horror of Jim Crow laws and the humiliation of housing discrimination and basically mistrusted authority of any sort."

                                                                                      (page 151)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Family # 16

"And yet a pernicious seed had been planted—a perception of me as disgruntled and vaguely hostile, lacking some expected level of grace. Whether it was originating from Barack’s political opponents or elsewhere, we couldn’t tell, but the rumors and slanted commentary almost always carried less-than-subtle messaging about race, meant to stir up the deepest and ugliest kind of fear within the voting public. Don’t let the black folks take over. They’re not like you. Their vision is not yours."

                                                                                      (page 262)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018

Michelle Obama's Career # 17

"'On this day,' he said, 'we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.'

I saw that truth mirrored again and again in the faces of the people who stood shivering in the cold to witness it. There were people in every direction, as far back as I could see. They filled every inch of the National Mall and the parade route. I felt as if our family were almost falling into their arms now. We were making a pact, all of us. You’ve got us; we’ve got you."

                                                                                      (page 299)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018

Michelle Obama's Career # 18

"We were taking on a huge issue, but now I had the benefit of operating from a huge platform. I was beginning to realize that all the things that felt odd to me about my new existence—the strangeness of fame, the hawkeyed attention paid to my image, the vagueness of my job description—could be marshaled in service of real goals. I was energized. Here, finally, was a way to show my full self."

                                                                                      (page 339)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018

Michelle Obama's Career # 19

"For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end. I became a mother, but I still have a lot to learn from and give to my children. I became a wife, but I continue to adapt to and be humbled by what it means to truly love and make a life with another person. I have become, by certain measures, a person of power, and yet there are moments still when I feel insecure or unheard."

                                                                                      (page 419)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018

Michelle Obama's Writings #20

"Obama received the award for best spoken word album at the 2020 Grammys, beating out John Waters and two of the Beastie Boys for the audiobook version of her 2018 memoir Becoming. "

                                                                                      (pargraph 2)

Specter, Emma. “Michelle Obama Just Won Her First Grammy.” Vogue, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2020, https://www.vogue.com/article/michelle-obama-wins-grammy-award-2020.

Michelle Obama's Career #21

"Becoming surpassed 2 million books sold in the U.S. and Canada, selling more than 725,000 copies alone on its first day out."

                                                                                      (paragraph 4)

Specter, Emma. “Michelle Obama Just Won Her First Grammy.” Vogue, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2020, https://www.vogue.com/article/michelle-obama-wins-grammy-award-2020.

Michelle Obama's Career #22

"Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School. In 1988, she returned to Chicago to join the firm of Sidley Austin. It was there that she met Barack Obama, a summer associate she was assigned to advise. They were married in 1992."

                                                                                      (paragraph 3)

“Michelle Obama.” The White House, The United States Government, 20 Jan. 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/michelle-obama/.

Michelle Obama's Career #23

"In a commencement address at the City College of New York she told graduates, “Never view your challenges as obstacles.” It is a lesson she has embodied all her life."

                                                                                      (paragraph 6)

“Michelle Obama.” The White House, The United States Government, 20 Jan. 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/michelle-obama/.

Michelle Obama's Career #24

"Throughout her time in the White House Mrs. Obama worked to support veterans and military families. She also focused her energies on what she calls her most important role: MominChief to her daughters, who grew into accomplished young women during their eight years in the White House."

                                                                                      (paragraph 6)

“Michelle Obama.” The White House, The United States Government, 20 Jan. 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/michelle-obama/.

Michelle Obama's Career #25

"When her husband announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, Michelle took a prominent role in his campaign. She took leave from her position at the University of Chicago to devote herself more fully to campaigning while still maintaining time to care for her and Barack’s two young daughters."

                                                                           (paragraph 3) 

“Michelle Obama.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michelle-Obama.

Michelle Obama's Career #26

"However, critics of her husband’s campaign took issue with some of her comments—such as when she remarked, while campaigning in Wisconsin in February 2008, that “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.” Michelle later clarified her statement—saying that she meant to say that she was proud that Americans were eagerly engaging in the political process during the 2008 election—and she continued to have an active role in her husband’s campaign. "

                                                                                      (paragraph 4)

“Michelle Obama.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michelle-Obama.

Michelle Obama's Career #27

"As first lady, Michelle was involved in various causes, notably supporting military families and ending childhood obesity. In an effort to promote healthy eating, she planted a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House in 2009. She related her experiences with the project in the book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America (2012). "

                                                                                      (paragraph 5)

Michelle Obama's Foundations #28

"The Obama Foundation Fellowship supports outstanding civic innovators—leaders who are working with their communities to create transformational change and addressing some of the world’s most pressing problems. The program selects 20 community-minded rising stars from around the world for a two-year, non-residential program, designed to amplify the impact of their work and inspire a wave of civic innovation."

“Obama.org.” Obama Foundation, 16 Mar. 2022, https://www.obama.org/.

Michelle Obama's Foundations #29

"The Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries. We engage people around the world to take action to help adolescent girls and the grassroots leaders working to educate them."

Michelle Obama's Foundations #30

"The Foundation wants to ensure that those on the front lines are supported with effective strategies to enhance and scale their work. We created an online network to connect leaders to one another so they can share best practices, resources, encouragement, and ideas."

Michelle Obama's Career #31

"AS MICHELLE WAS SETTLING into a job in the Daley administration, Barack was choosing an unconventional path of his own, one substantially less lucrative than the ones open to him as president of the Harward LLaw Review."

                                                                                      (page 139)

Slevin, Peter. Michelle Obama: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Michelle Obama's Career #32

"THIS TERRITORY WAS NOT unfamiliar to Michelle. She knew something about upper-crust universities from her time at Princeton and Harvard. She also had a snapshot of life on Hyde Park campus...."

                                                                                      (page 157)

Slevin, Peter. Michelle Obama: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Michelle Obama's Career #33

"She developed a summer internship program infused with lessons from Public Allies and the Asset-Based Community Development approach. Called Summer Links, the project provided ten-week internships that included half-day training sessions on such themes as race, relations, welfare reform, affordable health care, and homelessness. "

                                                                                      (page 157)

Slevin, Peter. Michelle Obama: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Michelle Obama's Career #34

Samuel Spears who is an associate dean of the university chapel said, "She's not afraid of conflict, but she also doesn't seek it. You had the sense she had the eat of the university president and the ear of the wider community" he had recalled.

                                                                                      (page 159)

Slevin, Peter. Michelle Obama: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Michelle Obama's Career #35

"MICHELLE, IN FACT, had been doing a lot of thinking about her life amid the good of Barack's losing run for Congress and the dark period that followed."

                                                                                      (page 180)

Michelle Obama's Career #36

"At the same time, she had a sense of purpose, two Ivy League degrees, and plenty of unfulfilled professional drive."

                                                                                      (page 180)

Michelle Obama's Career #37

"Incongruous as it might seem, Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton were increasingly measured against one another. She was a recent political recruit - 'a conscript,' Axelrod said - matched against one of the most gifted politicians in modern times"

                                                                                      (page 220)

Slevin, Peter. Michelle Obama: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Michelle Obama's Career #38

"Often asked how she and Barack were handing the right-and-tumble, she said nothing surprised her. 'Power concedes nothing without a struggle she said."

                                                                                      (page 220)

Slevin, Peter. Michelle Obama: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Michelle Obama's Career #39

"Michelle had once called herself a 'statistical anomaly,' a black women who had climbed from the Chicago working class into elite American society."

                                                                                      (page 344)

Michelle Obama's Career #40

"Michelle devoted countless hours to her work on obesity, education, and military families. She hoped her projects, and the messages behind them, would endure. And yet the power that she invoked most often in her public life was thee symbolic trajectory - the fact that she made it from Richard J. Daley's unforgiving Chicago all the way to Princeton, to Harvard, to prosperity and a measure of professional fulfillment, and then to the gleaming pulpit that was the White House"

                                                                                      (page 345)

Slevin, Peter. Michelle Obama: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Michelle Obama's Career #41

"And thanks to so many who came before me, thanks to their toil and sweat and blood, I've been able to live that promise myself. That's the story of America. All those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their kids."

“Michelle Obama.” Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Michelle_Obama.

Michelle Obama's Career #42

"I am one of a handful of people living today who have seen firsthand the immense weight and awesome power of the presidency. And let me once again tell you this: the job is hard. It requires clear-headed judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen—and an abiding belief that each of the 330,000,000 lives in this country has meaning and worth."

Michelle Obama's Career #43

"As I've said before, being president doesn't change who you are; it reveals who you are. Well, a presidential election can reveal who we are, too. And four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn't matter. Maybe they were fed up."

Michelle Obama's Career #44

"And here at home, as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and a never-ending list of innocent people of color continue to be murdered, stating the simple fact that a Black life matters is still met with derision from the nation's highest office. Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy."

Michelle Obama's Career #45

"Obama was identified as a potential vice presidential candidate in the 2020 presidential election. Slate senior editor Jeremy Stahl wrote in July 2020, 'The case for a Michelle Obama national candidacy has always been incredibly simple. If you think that the most popular and qualified candidates with the widest appeal are the likeliest to win a national election, you should want her on the Democratic ticket.'"

Michelle Obama's Career #46

"After delivering a moving eulogy for Reverend Pinckney and acknowledging the deep tragedy of the moment, Barack surprised everyone by leading the congregation in a slow and soulful rendition of ‘Amazing Grace.’ It was a simple invocation of hope, a call to persist. Everyone in the room, it seemed, joined in.”              

                                                                                                (page 397)

Obama, Michelle. Becoming. Crown Publishing, 2018.

Michelle Obama's Career #47

"I think in many different ways as a US history teacher, I see different models of first ladies and what they have done. When I think of Elanor Roosavelt in the 1930’s, her being such an advocate for civil rights. Many of the things she advocated for even didn’t come to be, so I have to first of all respect that she is African American, and she is the first African American first lady, so I think that it is so important for the country to see America walk the walk of progress and of change. I was inspired by her own agenda and advocacy and that she took on the idea of kids being fit and healthy, how to take care of themselves and strive, I think all of those points."

Battilega, Jill. “Catalyst for Change Michelle Obama Interview.”

Michelle Obama's Career #48

"You know like that I just try to be mindful of this phrase now is Work, Life, Balance, and that didn't exist when I first started teaching but you know just being mindful every day and how am I taking care of myself, how am I taking care of my students, how am I taking care of my own family and just to keep working on it."

Battilega, Jill. “Catalyst for Change Michelle Obama Interview.”

Michelle Obama's Career #49

"First thing that came out was, she’s a force! She is groundbreaking, inspirational, and genuine. She is real, which is what I love about her, when I read that book it was like, you are me. I feel like I can sit down and have coffee with her and have a lot in common. Relatable and forward."

Battilega, Jill. “Catalyst for Change Michelle Obama Interview.”

Michelle Obama's Career #50

"I think across all nations, again education is not just what teachers say, it is the way to empower yourself to be able to progress especially when it is quality education. "

Battilega, Jill. “Catalyst for Change Michelle Obama Interview.”