In her final commencement speech as First Lady, Michelle Obama threw the most graceful subliminal jabs at Donald Trump and referred to the White House as “a house that was built by slaves.”
FLOTUS was deliberate in choosing which schools to make her last appearances as First Lady—she previously spoke at the historically black Jackson State University in April and Santa Fe Indian School for Native American students in May.
During her speech to graduates of City College of New York on Friday (see video below), Obama pointedly broke down the simple significance of a black family being in the White House.
“It’s the story that I witness every single day when I wake up in a house that was built by slaves,” she said. “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful black young women, head off to school, waving goodbye to their father, the President of the United States, the son of a man from Kenya, who came here to America for the same reasons as many of you, to get an education and improve his prospects in life.”
Similar to President Barack Obama, FLOTUS not so subtly warned graduates about the toxicity of Donald Trump without mentioning his name. “Some folks out there today seem to have a very different perspective. They seem to view our diversity as a threat to be contained rather than as a resource to be tapped,” she said. “They tell us to be afraid of those who are different, to be suspicious of those with whom we disagree.”
Obama added, “Here in America, we don’t give in to our fears. We don’t build up walls to keep people out, because we know that our greatness has always depended on contributions from people who were born elsewhere but sought out this country and made it their home.”
In the midst of seemingly giving fewer fucks leading up to the Obamas’ exit, FLOTUS also used the typical inspiring college speak to urge the Class of 2016 to take advantage of opportunity. “While I think it’s fair to say that our founding fathers never could’ve imagined this day, all of you are very much the fruits of their visions,” she said. “Their legacy is very much your legacy and your inheritance and don’t let anybody tell you differently.”
