First Lady Michelle Obama, during a commencement address in the swing-state of North Carolina, called on students to vote and warned them that civil rights triumphs such as the end of segregation can "easily" be reversed. Obama reminded the graduating class of North Carolina A&T University, a historically-black of their school's civil rights heritage, recalling how four freshmen in 1960 -- now known as the Greensboro Four -- sat at a local "whites only" lunch counter to protest segregation.
"In the coming weeks and months, the demonstrations spread from Greensboro to places like Richmond, and Nashville, and Jackson and more than 50 other cities all across the country," Obama said. "And by the end of July, Woolworth's -- one of the biggest chain stores in the world -- was forced to end their policy of discrimination. And the Civil Rights movement was growing stronger every day."
The first lady told the students to imitate the Greensboro Four. "We've got a responsibility to protect the ground that's already been won, because it can just as easily be lost," she said, after mentioning civil rights gains such as the end of segregation. "We've got a responsibility to live up to the legacy of those who came before us by doing all that we can to help those who come after us. That's how we've always made progress -- each generation doing its part to lift up the next."
Obama proposed a variety of ways to uphold that responsibility, such as volunteering and fundraising for local charities.
"Vote -- not just once in a while, but every year, in every election," she also said. "And even better, run for a seat at the table yourself."
