Barack Obama 'Could Not Be Prouder' That Malia and Sasha Protested Against Police Brutality

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This summer we witnessed thousands mobilize and organize to protest against police brutality. Sparked by the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, many people sought to use their voice to advocate for racial equality. And among those voices, we’re now learning, were Michelle and Barack Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama. The former president revealed in an interview with People that both of the Obama girls participated in the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred during the summer — and he couldn’t be prouder of them.

“I didn’t have to give them a lot of advice because they had a very clear sense of what was right and what was wrong and [of] their own agency and the power of their voice and the need to participate,” said the former President.

“I could not have been prouder of them,” he said, adding: “Malia and Sasha found their own ways to get involved with the demonstrations and activism that you saw with young people this summer, without any prompting from Michelle and myself, on their own initiative.”

Obama continued to explain that his daughters fought for justice in a way that wasn’t “looking for limelight.” As he put it, it was simply a matter of Malia and Sasha having seen something wrong and believing they could fix it.

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Both of Obama’s daughters did, however, seek some guidance from their father who, before he was president, was a committed community organizer in Chicago. “I think a couple of times they asked for sort of very specific suggestions about what would be the best way to communicate X or what would be the most useful thing that, if we were mobilizing a whole bunch of friends, to have an impact, what should we be doing?” he told People.

“Their attitude was — we’ve seen something wrong and we want to fix it, and we think we can fix it. And we understand that it’s not gonna take just a day or a week or one march to fix it. But we’re in it for the long haul.”

Having watched both Malia and Sasha grow up before our eyes, we almost feel like proud parents, too, knowing they have the courage to fight for what they believe in.

Before you go, check out our gallery of celebrity parents who talk to their kids about racism:

celebs parents racism
celebs parents racism

Launch Gallery: 26 Photos of Sasha & Malia Obama Growing Up Before Our Eyes

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