Michelle Obama discusses her father’s impact during Revolt special
Fraser Robinson III, father of the former first lady, died at age 55 from complications of multiple sclerosis.
Michelle Obama is speaking out about her relationship with her late father and the importance of Black fatherhood in the lives of kids.
During a recent panel-style special event titled “REVOLT x Michelle Obama: The Cross Generational Conversation,” Obama opens up about the sacrifices her father made to support his family while she was growing up in Chicago, People reports.
Fraser Robinson III, father of the former first lady, worked at the Chicago water plant as a pump worker before his death at age 55 from complications of multiple sclerosis. He also served as a precinct captain for the Democratic Party. In a clip of the REVOLT special, Obama says her father “never felt sorry for himself” and “he never expected others to do for him.”
Obama was 27 when her father passed away and she visibly becomes emotional in the clip while recounting “the sheer act of him getting up every day and going to work was a statement that — ugh, now I’m going to cry,” she tells panel moderator Angie Martinez, adding, “that stays with me every day of my life.”
“What my dad did was beyond money, title, influence, nothing. I would trade it all for what my father provided us in that little bitty apartment on 74th and Euclid,” Obama later adds.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the lessons he taught us,” she says.
“That is the power of what a working-class Black man can do in the world, which is why I don’t want any Black man out here to think that they don’t have something to offer their kids,” Obama states.
The two-hour REVOLT special with Obama brought together several female powerhouses speaking about their unique experiences as Black women in America. The event features candid discussions with singer/songwriter. H.E.R., 25; model Winnie Harlow, 28; singer/actress Kelly Rowland, 41; and Tina Knowles-Lawson, 68, mother of global music superstars Beyoncé and Solange Knowles.
The conversation premieres on REVOLT Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 8 p.m. ET.
Speaking to People, Obama says “we bring out the best in ourselves” when we open up and “share our stories.”
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