It is unsurprising that as the first African American first lady, Michelle Obama faced as many racial taunts and attacks as her husband. Despite this, Obama's elegance mirrored that of Jackie Kennedy, and today, her political influence mirrors that of Hillary Clinton. All while, according to Gallup, continuing to be considered the most admired woman in the world years after leaving the White House.
Like Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama attended an Ivy League university to study law (Clinton attended Yale while Obama attended Harvard Law School), according to Biography. She graduated in 1988 and for the next two decades, she would work various jobs in the public sector, working in different community positions throughout Chicago. Then, 2008 happened.
Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention speech had made him a household name in the party and by 2008, he upset the favored Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee and eventual president of the United States. According to the Obama White House, First lady Michelle Obama spent her eight years in office working on four initiatives — advocating for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls education.
She helped launch initiatives such as Let's Move!, Let Girls Learn, Reach Higher, and Joining Forces to combat the issues she saw in the country. According to First Ladies, Michelle met with thousands of federal workers, something not seen on this level since Eleanor Roosevelt during the Great Depression, to further build support for the Obama Administration.
