Michelle Obama Said White Folks Are What’s Wrong With America-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
There are reports that First Lady Michelle Obama said “white folks are what’s wrong with America” during a speech at Tuskegee University.
The Truth:
Michelle Obama didn’t say “white folks are what’s wrong with America” in a speech at Tuskegee University.
The first lady delivered the commencement address at Tuskegee University in May 2015, and rumors about what she said about “white folks” took off almost immediately.
The rumor that Michelle Obama commented about “white folks” can be traced back to a report that appeared at the website Jews News under the headline, “White Folks And America Are the Problem — Michelle Obama Address All Black University With Divisive Message.” According to the report from May 2015:
In a speech at Tuskegee University, an institute of higher learning in which white people are “not allowed on the bus,” First Domestic Partner Michelle Obama gave the school’s commencement address with instructions to the future agitators of America to – what else? Go forth and agitate.
Her mission is an extension of that of Hussein Obama, to foment unrest and destabilize America. Her message was clear, “whatever is wrong in your life is whitey’s fault, and whitey owes you.”
She described the daily persecution inflicted upon her fellow victims at the hands of the plantation owner class as including police discrimination, the “nagging worries that you’re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason.”
Then, Jews News breathed new life into the rumor in November 2015 by recycling its initial account of Michelle Obama’s address at Tuskegee University, this time with the “white folks are what’s wrong with America” twist.
In reality, Jews News “editorialized” Michelle Obama’s remarks and interpreted them as “white folks are what’s wrong with America” — but she never actually said that.
Michelle Obama’s commencement address at Tuskegee University focused on the school’s founding, its journey into modern times and expectations for her as the first African-American first lady. Then, she concluded by giving Tuskegee graduates advice, which seems to be what Jews News took exception to, according to an official transcript:
The world won’t always see you in those caps and gowns. They won’t know how hard you worked and how much you sacrificed to make it to this day — the countless hours you spent studying to get this diploma, the multiple jobs you worked to pay for school, the times you had to drive home and take care of your grandma, the evenings you gave up to volunteer at a food bank or organize a campus fundraiser. They don’t know that part of you.
Instead they will make assumptions about who they think you are based on their limited notion of the world. And my husband and I know how frustrating that experience can be. We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives — the folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety; the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores; the people at formal events who assumed we were the “help” — and those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country.
And I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day — those nagging worries that you’re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason; the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds; the agony of sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal; the realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen — for some folks, it will never be enough. (Applause.)
So, Michelle Obama didn’t say “white folks are what’s wrong with America,” as reported by Jews News (and other blog sites). Michelle Obama recounted her experience as an African-American — and that’s how Jews News interpreted her remarks.
Click here for a video of Michelle Obama’s entire address at Tuskegee University.