Michelle Obama model of civic civility at re-election rally for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn

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As the rolling out team approached the UIC Pavilion in Chicago for the Pat Quinn rally featuring Michelle Obama, we were greeted by warm smiles and empowering conversations from a multicultural yet decidedly black crowd that had wrapped itself in an organized line about two city blocks long. Throngs of high school students dressed in uniforms held tightly to the blue tickets that would grant them entrance into this stadium event designed to excite and encourage voter outreach for incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn. The adults outnumbering them in the line were even more giddy than the schoolchildren.


Once inside, when the program finally commenced, we were treated to a lineup of local elected officials that stood on the podium for the customary couple of minutes of chants and political sound bites. Even the governor himself, slated as the final opening act before Michelle Obama’s main performance, joined in on the platitudes at a time when greater explanation of the hard facts would’ve been welcomed by a community drowning in emotion tinged commercial sound bites created for what seems like an impulse voter. But … since this isn’t the space for my political rant…I digress. Let’s get back to the topic at hand.


There’s no denying the fact that Michelle Obama’s got it. By “it,” I mean the elegant style and grace of a grounded, intelligent black woman who, though molded by her recent experiences as first lady, already possessed undeniable strengths and an ability to communicate that made her a force way before her marriage to the now president of the United States. When the Flotus speaks, she captures the ideals of “every woman” and the men who love them.

We know her story well.


Her dress, vocal tone and cadence of speech promote aspirational civic life in a way that few can. The truth of the matter is that the civic, professional and personal life of Michelle Obama is something that a lot of us do aspire to. Hopefully, the fact that her real life is a actualization of those aspirations will motivate our countrymen to not only vote in a manner that promotes the greater good, but to live every day in a similar fashion.

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