Michelle Obama Launches the Global Girls Alliance on the Today Show
October 11 is the International Day of the Girl, which former First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated by announcing the launch of her latest initiative, the Obama Foundation’s Global Girls Alliance, live on NBC’s Today show. “The stats show that when you educate a girl, you educate a family, a community, a country,” Obama said from the stage in Rockefeller Plaza before penned-up hordes of fans, screaming in the mist (“We love you, Michelle!” a Girl Scout troop bellowed). “If we care about climate change, if we care about poverty, if we care about maternal child health,” she reiterated, “then we have to care about education.”
In an op-ed for CNN published on Thursday morning, the soon-to-be-published author delved further into the initiative: “We’re seeking to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, so that they can support their families, communities, and countries. The evidence is clear. Girls who attend secondary school earn higher salaries, have lower infant and maternal mortality rates, and are less likely to contract malaria and HIV. And studies have shown that educating girls isn’t just good for the girls, it’s good for all of us.” Global Girls Alliance will connect organizations and grassroots leaders to one another, she explained, as well as to people who want to help. “We’ve partnered with GoFundMe to create a new social fundraising platform at GlobalGirlsAlliance.org/donate—a place where anyone, anywhere around the world, can support girls in places like India, Guatemala, or Uganda,” Obama writes. “We’ve instituted a rigorous process to identify projects that need support, so whether you’re giving a portion of your paycheck or a dollar from a lemonade stand, we don’t take it lightly that you’re donating your hard-earned money to this cause.” Even in these increasingly divisive times, she furthers, there’s nothing we can’t do when we work together.
Live on Today, Obama answered questions, ranging from her relationship with her husband post–White House (she touted the importance of separate bathrooms to the longevity of any relationship, as well as the fact that they’ve both been hard at work on their books), that lozenge-sharing moment with George W. Bush (“We are forever seatmates”—because of protocol at events featuring former First Families—“he’s my partner in crime”), and the recent lashing out against the #MeToo movement. “Change is not a direct, smooth path—there’s going to be bumps and resistance,” Obama said, channeling her husband’s famous speeches citing the uneven and indirect route to progress. “There has been a status quo . . . and that is changing and there’s going to be a little upheaval, a little discomfort. It’s up to women out there to say, ‘Sorry that you feel uncomfortable, but I’m paving the way for the next generation.’” The audience roared its approval. But what about her infamous “When they go low, we go high” from the Democratic convention? Does she still feel that way, even after . . . everything? “Fear is not a proper motivator,” Obama said. ”Hope wins out.”
And speaking of: Would the she ever consider a run for office? “I have never wanted to be a politician,” Obama reiterated. “I want to serve; I want to do work . . . there are so many ways to make an impact—politics is just not my thing.” And yet—hope springs eternal.
