--- title: Democratic Convention: Read Michelle Obama Transcript description: Michelle Obama argued for the importance of black and female role models in the White House in a speech at the Democratic convention. canonical: https://time.com/4421538/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-transcript/ author: Will Drabold article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-26T02:54:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:43:40.712Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read Michelle Obama's Emotional Speech at the Convention og:description: "I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves." og:url: https://time.com/4421538/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-transcript/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0501e9cca82a9fdd/69889f36e20a877998a91bf1/michelle-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: First lady Michelle Obama waves to the crowd before delivering remarks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read Michelle Obama's Emotional Speech at the Convention twitter:description: "I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0501e9cca82a9fdd/69889f36e20a877998a91bf1/michelle-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read Michelle Obama's Emotional Speech at the Democratic Convention > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a6690e33-a19e-4806-b698-adbf5f4e7987&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch Michelle Obama’s Emotional Speech at the Democratic Convention [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Michelle Obama’s Emotional Speech at the Democratic Convention](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FK5NXdd9.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2016-07-26. First Lady Michelle Obama gave an emotional speech at the Democratic national convention Monday night, arguing for the importance of black and female role models in the White House._ by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 26, 2016 2:54 AM UTC by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 26, 2016 2:54 AM UTC First Lady Michelle Obama [gave an emotional speech](http://time.com/4423176/democratic-convention-michelle-obama-star/) at the Democratic national convention Monday night, arguing for the importance of black and female role models in the White House. “That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” she said. “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.” **Read More:** [_Here Are Seven Things That Went Wrong On The Democratic Convention’s First Day_](http://time.com/4422851/democratic-convention-troubles/) Read Obama’s remarks as delivered below: --- > “” --- ## Transcript In every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the four or eight years of their lives. In this election there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility, only one person who I believe is truly qualified to be President of the United States And that is our friend Hillary Clinton. There were plenty of moments when Hillary could have decided that this work was too hard. But here's the thing. What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. And when I think about the kind of president that I want for my girls And all our children, that's what I want someone who understand that the issues president faces are not black and white. It cannot be boiled down the 140 characters. Leaders like Hillary Clinton who has the guts and the grace To keep coming back and putting those cracks in the highest and hardest glass sealing and so she finally breaks through. Lifting all of us along with her. That is the story of this country. The story that has brought me to this stage tonight The story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. [ APPLAUSE ] And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be President of the United States. Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again Because this right now, is the greatest country on Earth. Thank you all and God bless. 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