Former First Lady Michelle Obama stopped by “CBS This Morning” on Friday, May 7, and spoke with Gayle King about why she supports the Black Lives Matter movement and what made her speak out after the Derek Chauvin conviction.
“The goal is to let leaders lead. But in certain times, people … look to us often. ‘Well, what do you think? How do you feel?’ While we’re all breathing a sigh of relief over the verdict, there’s still work to be done. We can’t say ‘great that happened, let’s move on.’ I know that people in the Black community don’t feel that way because many of us still live in fear,” explained Obama.
The former first lady also stated that because she has Black daughters who have to live in this society, she lives in fear of their lives, so being quiet wasn’t an option.
“Many of us still live in fear as we go to the grocery store, or worry about — walking our dogs, or allowing our children to get a license. Every time they get in a car by themselves, I worry about what assumption is being made by somebody who doesn’t know everything about them,” she continued. “The fact that they are good students and polite girls. but maybe they’re playing their music a little loud. Maybe somebody sees the back of their heads and makes an assumption.”
Obama also told King she wants her fellow American citizens to be more considerate and listen more, because Black people would rather not have to protest, but there’s no other choice.
“Like so many parents of Black kids … the innocent act of getting a license puts fear in our hearts. I think we have to talk about it more. And we have to ask our fellow citizens to listen a bit more, and to believe us, and to know we don’t want to be out there marching. I mean, all those Black Lives Matter kids, they’d rather not have to worry about this. They’re taking to the streets because they have to. They’re trying to have people understand that, that we’re real folks, and the fear that many have of so many of us is irrational. And it’s based on a history that is … just sad and it’s dark. And it’s time for us to move beyond that,” Obama added.
Check out the “CBS This Morning” clip on the following page as Obama discusses more race-related issues in the U.S.
