The first lady of the United States was eloquent and polite but blunt in her address to the NAACP national body. Michelle Obama implored the NAACP to cast aside continual references and talk about slavery and segregation and join her in the fight to eradicate ills of the new millennium, particularly the cause she has championed, childhood obesity.
At the organization’s annual convention in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday, the first lady said that obesity — and the legion of diseases that are associated with being morbidly overweight like diabetes and heart problems – are continually victimizing young black boys and girls. Obama, who has launched her own health initiative, “Let’s Move,” says children’s bodies are rotting while sitting in front of the TV, playing video games or surfing the Internet.
“In fact, studies have found that African American children spend an average of nearly six hours a day watching TV — and that every extra hour of TV they watch is associated with the consumption of an additional 167 calories,” the first lady said.
“We are living today in a time where we’re decades beyond slavery, we are decades beyond Jim Crow, when one of the greatest risks to our children’s future is their own health, African American children are significantly more likely to be obese than are white children. Nearly half of African American children will develop diabetes at some point in their lives. People, that’s half of our children. And if we don’t do something to reverse this trend right now, our kids won’t be in any shape to continue the work begun by the founders of this great organization.
“So we owe it to all those who’ve come before us to ensure that all those who come after us — our children and our grandchildren — that they have the strength and the energy and the enduring good health that they need to continue and complete that journey,” she continued.
“So I’m asking you, NAACP, will you move with me? Let’s move! I’m going to need you, NAACP. This is not an endeavor that I can do by myself. We cannot change the health of our community alone. I’m going to need each and every single one of you to work together for this campaign for our children’s future. If we do this together, we can change the way our children think about their health forever,” she said. –terry shropshire
