“When you’ve worked hard,
and done well, and walked through
that doorway of opportunity,
YOU DO NOT SLAM IT
SHUT BEHIND YOU.
You reach back, and you give
other folks the same chances
that helped you succeed.”
—Democratic National Convention, September 4, 2012
“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
“NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT
THAN THE HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING OF OUR CHILDREN.
Nothing. And our hopes for their future should
drive every single decision that we make.”
—Signing of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, December 13, 2010
“This time, in this great country—
where a girl from the South Side of Chicago
can go to college and law school,
and the son of a single mother from Hawaii
CAN GO ALL THE WAY
TO THE WHITE HOUSE—
we committed ourselves to building
the world as it should be.”
—Democratic National Convention, August 25, 2008
“You need to prepare yourself to
BE INFORMED AND ENGAGED
as a citizen, to serve and to lead, to stand
up for our proud American values and
to honor them in your daily lives.”
—Final remarks as First Lady, School Counselor of the Year Reach Higher Event, January 6, 2017
“WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?
What inspires you? How do you want to give back?
And then I want you to take a deep breath and
TRUST YOURSELVES to chart your
own course and make your mark on the world.”
—Tuskegee University, May 9, 2015
“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
“TRUE LEADERSHIP
OFTEN HAPPENS WITH
THE SMALLEST ACTS,
in the most unexpected places,
by the most unlikely individuals.”
—Young African Women Leaders Forum, June 22, 2011
“WE GIVE BACK EVEN WHEN
WE’RE STRUGGLING OURSELVES
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE
IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WORSE OFF.
AND THERE BUT FOR
THE GRACE OF GOD GO I.”
—Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016
“EVERY GIRL,
NO MATTER WHERE SHE LIVES,
DESERVES THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DEVELOP THE
PROMISE INSIDE OF HER.”
—Op-Ed, Financial Times, June 15, 2015
“HOW HARD YOU WORK
MATTERS MORE THAN
HOW MUCH YOU MAKE …
HELPING OTHERS MEANS MORE
THAN JUST GETTING AHEAD.”
—Democratic National Convention, September 4, 2012
“TOGETHER—
WE CAN OVERCOME
ANYTHING
THAT STANDS IN
OUR WAY.”
—Tuskegee University, May 9, 2015