Michelle Obama on Sunday called on 2020 high school graduates to couple protesting with “organizing and mobilizing and voting.”
“It's up to you to march hand in hand with your allies to stand peacefully with dignity and purpose on the front lines in the fight for justice,” she said during a virtual commencement address streamed live on YouTube titled, “Dear Class of 2020.”
“Graduates, anger is a powerful force. It can be a useful force, but left on its own, it will only corrode and destroy and sow chaos on the inside and out. But when anger is focused, when it's channeled into something more, oh, that is the stuff that changes history,” she said.
“Dr. King was angry. Sojourner Truth was angry. Lucretia Mott, Cesar Chavez, the folks at Stonewall, they were all angry. But those folks were also driven by compassion, by principle, by hope. And so they took advantage of whatever resources they had in their own time,” she added.
The former first lady also urged graduates to push others to vote.
“Graduates, this is how you can finish the work that the generations before you have started. By staying open and hopeful, even in the tough times. By channeling that discomfort you feel into activism, and a democracy that was designed to respond to those who vote,” she said.
The event also featured commentary from former President Barack Obama, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys and other celebrities.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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