Our fabulous First Lady sat on a girl-powered panel during the SXSW music festival to talk life after the White House, favorite music, and the progress of women around the world.
Michelle O was joined by Missy Elliot, Sophia Bush and Diane Warren on the stage moderated by Queen Latifah.
Michelle spoke to the weight of her platform and how she has aspired to use it throughout her time as a First Lady.
“This is a unique spotlight, and my goal has been to make sure I don’t waste it. Everyday I wake up and it’s like good lord please make sure that I’m being relevant, that I’m having impact, that I’m making a difference in the lives of young people.”
Michelle plans to continue to drive the initiatives she has spearheaded in the White House including #62milliongirls and Let’s Move.
The discussion hit a musical note when an audience member asked the panelists what their favorite albums were.
Missy struggled over the question, finally naming Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Salt N Pepper as her lyrical muses. Michelle Obama named Stevie Wonder’s “Songs In The Key Of Life” as her favorite album.
Latifah, who was recognized by the entire panel for her inspirational career, noted that sitting with the First Lady after writing “Ladies First” is super surreal.
The conversation turned to women’s empowerment as Michelle and Queen Latifah both pressed the importance of having women present across every field.
Michelle urged anyone in a position of power to ask themselves, “Is there diversity around the table? If you’re a man at the table, and you look around and there are only men at the table, you should ask yourself ‘how can I do better?”
Queen Latifah added, “Whenever you remove a woman’s voice from anything, you are lacking.”
Finally, the conversation turned to if FLOTUS will be running for president. We’ve heard her say no before, but this time she offered a firm reason: her daughters.
“I will not run for president because I have these two young people at home, and being the daughters of a president, just think about it? It’s not so easy. They’ve handled it with grace and poise, but enough is enough. There are so many ways to impact the world. You don’t have to be president of the United States to do wonderful and marvelous things.”
Bummer.
But don’t worry, just because she won’t be flying Air Force One, doesn’t mean the First Lady is going to lose her fly:
“I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon,” she quipped. “You think your 40s are good? 50s are phenomenal! And I plan to go into my 60s blazing.”
We can’t wait to see what she does next.
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