The first ever Obama Foundation Summit is taking place in Chicago, and former First Lady Michelle Obama offered insights into what it’s been like to move from her South Side comfort zone and onto the world stage.
Obama, who spoke to a group of 500 people from 60 countries on Wednesday, hit on several themes in her speech, including what it’s like to raise daughters in the modern age.
“We ask them to speak up. We ask them to speak their minds,” she said. “We want them to speak out against sexual harassment and against inequality.”
The former first lady also issued a warning about the power of social media.
“You don’t tweet every thought,” she said. “Most of your initial thoughts aren’t worthy of the light of day. I’m not talking about anybody in particular.”
The summit, which wraps up Wednesday, has also given several former staff members from the Obama administration a chance to reunite with the family, including former White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough.
“Getting back to what we all believe in this country, which is that there is unlimited opportunity here,” he said. “We have leadership in Washington that there is a capped amount of opportunity, and that we have to keep people out of it.”
The next generation of civic leaders has been the target audience for the summit, which will conclude with a speech by former President Barack Obama and a concert featuring Chance the Rapper and Gloria Estefan at the brand new Wintrust Arena on Wednesday night.
