Michelle Obama takes first ladies of Croatia, Turkey, Norway, Albania and France to her 'backyard.' [View all]

[bigtree]

Last edited Mon May 21, 2012, 09:07 AM - Edit history (1)

Away from the clamor of protesters and the glitter of a city dressed up for the NATO summit, first lady Michelle Obama and the spouses of foreign heads of state spent Sunday afternoon on the South Side, less than a mile from the neighborhood where she grew up.

They dined on salad made with Tuscan kale and chives from a rooftop garden at the Gary Comer Youth Center. Culinary students helped Chicago chef Paul Kahan prepare the main course — walleye and braised oxtail — served on a table adorned with a flower arrangement that included marigolds grown by the center's "green team."

Any other day, the airy room with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the gymnasium and the auditorium would be a typical cafeteria, filled with the chatter of young people having lunch. But Sunday, it was transformed into an elegant dining room with the trimmings of an official White House luncheon.

It was a great opportunity for the young people growing up in Greater Grand Crossing, a low-income community where most of the public schools are low-performing and fewer than half of the students graduate from high school. And the students, realizing that the world was watching, reveled in the attention.

read: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/natosummit/ct-met-nato-michelle-obama-20120521,0,1156654.story




The center, funded by the late Lands' End founder Gary Comer as a place where children could receive support to help them graduate from high school and go on to college, is well-known to Obama. She said she brought the first ladies of Croatia, Turkey, Norway, Albania and France, as well as the wife of the NATO secretary general to her hometown and "my backyard" so the world could see the amazing work being done there.

“I brought them here because I am so proud of where I grew up, and I wanted to show everyone some of the wonderful things that are happening here on the South Side,” Obama said before the South Shore Drill Team performed a routine to Frank Sinatra’s “My Kind of Town.”

“I grew up just like you,” Obama said to a group of black children. “Same background. My family didn’t have a lot of money growing up. Neither of my parents had the opportunity to go to college, and most of the folks in my neighbourhood didn’t get a chance to go, either.”

Sometimes, she said, she doubted herself.

"But I decided to just focus, to push the haters out, to kick the doubters out of my head," she said. "And instead, what I did was I worked really hard. I focused all my energy — on working hard."

read: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/michelle-obama-shows-south-side-of-chicago-to-first-ladies/




After a tour of the center's rooftop garden and cooking demonstrations, the guests were entertained by the South Shore Dance Drill Team, the Soul Children of Chicago and the Muntu Dance Theatre. The groups performed a variety of acts, including hip-hop, African dance, drumming and tunes by Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson.

In keeping with the first lady's "Let's Move" initiative, young people also showed the guests how they add fun to their workouts, performing hip-hop aerobics to the Jacksons' upbeat song "Can You Feel It."

Obama and Anne-Mette Rasmussen, wife of NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, clapped and danced to the gospel singing of the Soul Children of Chicago and also sampled a strawberry basil vinaigrette salad dressing made at the center.

Valerie Trierweiler, the domestic partner of French President Francois Hollande, and Turkish first lady Hayrunnisa Gul spoke with children on a rooftop garden about the heirloom tomatoes and cimmarron lettuce they were growing.

read: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/21/us-nato-summit-firstladies-idUSBRE84K02820120521?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews




excerpts from First Lady's remarks:

Way back when I was just starting out in my career in Chicago, I ran a little organization called Public Allies, where we worked to train 30 young people each year -- many of them like you -- for careers in public service. And since we started that program many years ago, leaders from that program have gone on to transform lives throughout this community and so many others not just here in Chicago, but around the country. But there are some very special ones who are here today, and I got to meet three public allies who are working here right now -- Miguel Rodriguez, Maurice Wilson, and Sinya Hayes, who are here. You guys -- are you here? (Applause.) Where are you? That's my public allies. That's like home.

This program was the reason -- one of the reasons why I left practicing law -- so you know I walked away from some money to do this work. But Public Allies will always have a special place in my heart.

I also remember back when this center was just an idea. And it is really amazing to see this phenomenal facility. I remember when it was just being built, and I can't begin to tell you how much it means to be here, seeing this thriving, inspiring, beautiful place just minutes from where I grew up -- a place where you all can come and learn and grow and pursue your dreams. I hope you know how blessed you are. And being here today, I see so much of myself in all of you young people. I really do.


?w=65


I grew up just like you. Same background. My family didn't have a lot of money growing up. Neither of my parents had the opportunity to go to college, and most of the folks in my neighborhood didn't get a chance to go, either. And there were also well-meaning but sometimes misguided folks who questioned whether someone with my background could get into the kind of colleges that I dreams of attending. And sometimes I'd save those folks the trouble and raise those questions of doubt in my own head; lying awake at night worrying about whether I had what it took to succeed.

But I decided to just focus, to push the haters out, to kick the doubters out of my head. And instead, what I did was I worked really hard. I focused all my energy on working hard. I spent hours every day trying to get my homework done, wrestling with those math problems, writing and rewriting those papers over and over again. We don't like it, but that's part of the process. Studying, getting up early in the morning to study, because we lived in such a little-bitty apartment that it was hard to concentrate at night when everybody was awake, so often I woke up at 4:30, 5:00 in the morning just to study in quiet. And eventually, I was accepted to Princeton University, and I went onto Harvard Law School. (Applause.)

And what I want you all to know is that with every acceptance letter I received, I realized that it didn't matter where I was from, didn't matter how much money my family had. What mattered was how deeply I was willing to believe in myself. Do you realize that? It was all here. What mattered was how hard I was willing to work. And that's something that I really want to emphasize with you all today.





You see, no one -- or maybe very few people are born smart. You become smart through hard work. No one is born a student or a doctor or a teacher or an astronaut. You become those things by studying and practicing and putting in those long hours in the classroom and the lab, wherever it is.

So today, you all, no matter what you have going on at home or in your life, no matter what challenges you all are facing, I just want to urge you all to invest yourself 100 percent in everything you do. Invest yourself 100 percent in school, in classes. Invest yourself 100 percent in these wonderful activities that you have here at the Comer Center.

If you dream of being a reporter on the evening news, then get involved with the Free Spirit Media -- take advantage of that. If you want to be a scientist, then get up on top of that roof and start studying those plants and working in that garden. If you want to be a mayor, if you want to be senator, maybe -- if you want to be President of the United States, then get involved in these wonderful leadership programs that are here. Embrace them. Take advantage of them.

And more than anything else, that is why Mr. Comer built this center. He built it because he believed in all of you, just like I believe in you, just like my husband, the President of the United States, believes in you all. And everyone at this center believes in you. Take that in.




full remarks by the First Lady at Gary Comer Youth Center - Chicago, Illinois
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2012/05/michelle_obama_south_side_nato.html

more pics: http://theobamadiary.com/2012/05/20/the-host-with-the-most-updating/