Michelle Obama Speaks at JES Global Summit
The former First Lady shares messages of hope in difficult times
Former First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at the Jefferson Educational Society's (JES) Global Summit on Monday, Oct. 12 to a packed house at the Erie Insurance Arena, sharing uplifting messages and her optimistic outlook with the Erie community.
A video played before the main event, showing Obama at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side, where she grew up. Near the end of her speech she relayed a powerful message: "No one has the right to sit in judgement of who is American enough, we simply don't have the luxury or time to be cynical or complacent."
After the video ended, JES President Ferki Ferati echoed this sentiment and mentioned his immigrant roots as a refugee from Kosovo.
Ferati acknowledged the shooting that claimed nine lives on the east side of Erie on Oct. 9 and led a moment of silence. "I believe when we can't make sense of the darkness, we must look for the light," he said.
Journalist and Moderator Elaine Welteroth kicked off the conversation by discussing the years in the White House and recalled the former president's visit to Erie last year in September. Welteroth returned to a moment in the video where Obama talked about her husband's resolve during his two-term presidency. "Eight years in the crucible, and not once did you melt from the heat," the former First Lady said in her Chicago speech, causing her husband to tear up. "What were some of the most difficult challenges you saw Barack face in the White House?" Welteroth asked.
Obama said that the times her husband would struggle the most "were with the issues where there was no will to change," such as "senseless gun violence." She said the mass shooting at Sandy Hook affected the former president deeply. "Still to this day he is crushed by what happened," she said.
The conversation shifted to Obama's upbringing on the South Side of Chicago and the wisdom her parents passed on to her. "We were products of the public schools, and didn't have a lot of money, but we had our values," she said. "My dad hated liars and cheaters. He hated bullies, so he wouldn't be happy right now."
Throughout the conversation, Obama kept returning to her parents and her upbringing and how they informed her values. Welteroth asked Obama about maintaining her "when they go low, we go high" philosophy in challenging times. "I want to believe that we have remained unchanged, but a lot is going on in the world right now," Welteroth said.
Obama said that "going high" is a strategy you can't compromise on. "Facing anger with anger rarely gets us to a better place." She went on to say that there have been many difficult periods in our country's history. "Things have gotten pretty dark before. There was Jim Crow, slavery, women's suffrage, and great wars," Obama said. "This isn't the worst of times, this is a difficult time."
Obama then imparted some advice to the younger generations wanting to make a difference in the world. "There is power in the small, it takes a long time to make big change," she said. "Kids, just focus on what you can control right now."
Erie has gone through difficult times recently, from the destruction of the severe storm on Sept. 2 to the tragic mass shooting on Oct. 9. Obama shared her advice for community leaders, drawing on her experience building the Obama Presidential Center near her childhood neighborhood. "Understand that every community is full of assets, full of gifts and treasures," she said. "Respecting the community you're trying to help is the key part."
