The Commander-in-Chief addressed the new grads of Morehouse College, and the FLOTUS delivered her remarks to the students and families of Bowie State University.
While both Obamas made extraordinary points, Michelle was spot on about education issues that affect African Americans and Barack stressed the importance of giving back to the community.
Check out our favorite excerpts and lessons from both must-hear speeches below.
1. Giving back is just has important has working toward your dreams. (President Obama)
"I know some of you came to Morehouse from communities where life was about keeping your head down and looking out for yourself. Maybe you feel like you escaped, and you can take your degree, get a fancy job and never look back. And don't get me wrong - with the heavy weight of student loans, with doors open to you that your parents and grandparents could scarcely imagine, no one expects you to take a vow of poverty. But I will say it betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do. Yes, go get that law degree. But if you do, ask yourself if the only option is to defend the rich and powerful, or if you can also find time to defend the powerless," the President said. "Sure, go get your MBA, or start that business, we need black businesses out there. But ask yourself what broader purpose your business might serve, in putting people to work, or transforming a neighborhood."
"The most successful CEOs I know didn't start out intent on making money, rather, they had a vision of how their product or service would change things, and the money followed," he added.
2. Inspire those who look up to you to expect more of themselves. (President Obama)
"We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices. Growing up, I made a few myself. And I have to confess, sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down," he said. "I had a tendency to make excuses for me not doing the right thing. But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years is, there's no longer any room for excuses."
3. Career success means nothing without success at home. (President Obama)
"I still wish I had a father who was not only present, but involved. And so my whole life, I've tried to be for Michelle and my girls what my father wasn't for my mother and me. I've tried to be a better husband, a better father, and a better man." he said. "Even now, I'm still learning how to be the best husband and father I can be. Because success in everything else is unfulfilling if we fail at family."
"I know that when I'm on my deathbed someday, I won't be thinking about any particular legislation I passed, or policy I promoted. I won't be thinking about the speech I gave, or the Nobel Prize I received," he continued. "I'll be thinking about a walk I took with my daughters, a lazy afternoon with my wife, whether I did right by all of them."
Click here to read more
Source: Black America Web | Myeisha Essex
