--- description: Former First Lady Michelle Obama praised Chance the Rapper after he announced he was donating $1 million to Chicago Public Schools. title: Michelle Obama Is Really Really Proud of Chance the Rapper image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7cb370f9251fcfb2/6988bd52a988ca8cc96bb443/michelle-obama-chance-the-rapper-donation.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Michelle Obama Just Gave Chance the Rapper the Ultimate Shout Out by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2017 5:57 PM CUT  CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 06: Chance The Rapper holds a press conference and donates $1 Million Dollars to the Chicago Public School Foundation at Westcott Elementary School on March 6, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images) CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 06: Chance The Rapper holds a press conference and donates $1 Million Dollars to the Chicago Public School Foundation at Westcott Elementary School on March 6, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)Timothy Hiatt—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 7, 2017 5:57 PM CUT Former First Lady and education activist [Michelle Obama](http://time.com/4686623/barack-michelle-obama-book-deal-penguin-random-house/ "undefined") praised fellow Chicagoan [Chance the Rapper](http://time.com/4669147/chance-the-rapper-grammys-2017/ "undefined") after he [announced a $1 million donation](http://time.com/4692575/chance-the-rapper-chicago-school-donation/ "undefined") to Chicago Public Schools. Yesterday, Chance held a [press conference ](https://twitter.com/chancetherapper/status/838843035412750336 "undefined")at Westcott Elementary School on Chicago’s South Side, where he spoke about a “call to action” to help support arts education in Chicago’s schools. Last week, Chance met with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to discuss education funding, but the Grammy award-winning rapper left the meeting “frustrated.” “Our kids should not be held hostage because of political positioning,” Chance said in his press conference. The rapper’s news was met with positivity across various social media platforms — most notably from Michelle Obama herself. In a tweet, she thanked Chance for being “an example of the power of arts education.” Chance also contributed to the lighting of the [National Christmas Tree ](http://time.com/4587510/watch-live-barack-michelle-obama-national-christmas-tree-lighting/ "undefined")with the Obamas in December. > [](https://twitter.com/MichelleObama/status/838888475394998272) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4693385/michelle-obama-chance-the-rapper-donation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4693385/michelle-obama-chance-the-rapper-donation/"},"headline":"Michelle Obama Just Gave Chance the Rapper the Ultimate Shout Out","datePublished":"2017-03-07T17:57:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:41.312Z","description":"\"You are an example of the power of arts education\"","url":"https://time.com/4693385/michelle-obama-chance-the-rapper-donation/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Education","celebrities","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7cb370f9251fcfb2/6988bd52a988ca8cc96bb443/michelle-obama-chance-the-rapper-donation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7cb370f9251fcfb2/6988bd52a988ca8cc96bb443/michelle-obama-chance-the-rapper-donation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chance The Rapper Holds A Press Conference In Support Of Chicago Schools","caption":"Chance The Rapper holds a press conference and donates $1 Million Dollars to the Chicago Public School Foundation at Westcott Elementary School on March 6, 2017 in Chicago, Ill.","creditText":"Timothy Hiatt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4693385/michelle-obama-chance-the-rapper-donation/","name":"Michelle Obama Just Gave Chance the Rapper the Ultimate Shout Out"}}]}] ```