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Michelle Obama's DNC Speech Celebrates Black Resilience

Michelle Obama's DNC Speech Celebrates Black Resilience

Yesterday was the start of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, and there were a few notable speeches given throughout the night. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Michelle Obama all took the DNC stage to address people watching across the country, but it was Michelle's speech that impressed critics most and brought supporters to tears.

The First Lady used the moment to endorse presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, calling her the only qualified candidate in the race for the White House. "In this election, I'm with her," Michelle said as she chronicled Clinton's life as a politician.

She followed that up by acknowledging the gun violence that has plagued America in recent months. Recalling recent tragedies across the country she said, "Police officers and protesters in Dallas who all desperately want to keep our children safe. People who lined up in Orlando to donate blood because it could have been their son, their daughter in that club."

She then proceeded to chronicle her life in the White House with President Obama and their daughters Malia and Natasha, discussing how the family's eight years in office changed both them and other American families.

"And let me tell you, Barack and I take that same approach to our job as president and first lady because we know that our words and actions matter, not just to our girls, but the children across this country. Kids who tell us, I saw you on TV, I wrote a report on you for school. Kids like the little black boy who looked up at my husband, his eyes wide with hope, and he wondered, 'Is my hair like yours?'"

The statement served as a reminder of Barack's historical presidency, having become the nation first African-American president back in 2008.

But it was this part of her speech that resonated most with viewers, offering a statement that embodied the resilience and strength of black people in America.

"The story of those generations 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 and intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn."

In that moment Michelle told another story of America: not the one of fear, islamophobia and xenophobia that Donald Trump spoke to during the RNC. But one of hope, progress and joy, where a black family can incite change in a nation and make history.