During her speech to the students at Bowie State University, first lady Michelle Obama gave a very clear message to the young people in attendance.  The message was one that says that focusing on education is the key to being successful in the world.

“Be an example of excellence to the next generation,” she said.

Mrs. Obama said that even though millions of African Americans are now free to do as they choose, many of them are ignoring their educational opportunities, being carried away with what the media offers them.

“Today, more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, more than 50 years after the end of ‘separate but equal,’ when it comes to getting an education, too many of our young people just can’t be bothered,” she said.

“Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours, playing video games, watching TV. Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper,” Obama kept going. “Right now, one in three African American students are dropping out of high school, only one in five African Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 has gotten a college degree.”

The first lady also told graduates that they need to let go of the notion that getting an education is the same as acting white.

She said, “reject the slander that a black child with a book is trying to act white.”

Will people listen to the first lady’s message?

Read mnore: YourBlackWorld