Former First Lady (Michelle Obama): This Is A Scam! People Were Running From Us Because We Were Black! I Was Bitter About The Racism I Received!

Michelle Obama (0:00)

People in power who haven't understood their why can lead us down some dark tunnels. We are in a really tough time right now.

SPEAKER_2 (0:09)

And what did only Michelle Obama, the former first lady, and her brother, Craig Robinson, are sharing their rare perspectives into a world very few ever get to see.

Michelle Obama (0:19)

I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood, and we were taught foundational values so that we could function in our society. But growing up, I was just checking boxes. And then I met Barack Obama. He showed up in my life as the opposite of a box checker.

Steven Bartlett (0:37)

You rejected him at first, right?

Michelle Obama (0:38)

Yeah. I was even trying to introduce him to some of my friends. He said, well, why don't we go out?

Steven Bartlett (0:43)

And what did you think of him?

Craig Robinson (0:44)

Honestly, I was like, he may last two months. I remember my mom saying, well, at least he's tall.

Michelle Obama (0:52)

But the next thing, you know, we were on our way to building our lives together. And my initial reaction was, don't do this. There would be death threats. How do you raise kids in the White House? How will we afford it?

Steven Bartlett (1:05)

Did you ask for any promises if he were to win?

Michelle Obama (1:08)

I didn't know what that journey was going to be and what I would need to negotiate for myself. And if I had known what I know now, I should have said...

Steven Bartlett (1:19)

Michelle, I was watching the coverage of your decision to not go to Trump's inauguration. What was the thinking behind that?

Michelle Obama (1:26)

The truth was is that...

Steven Bartlett (1:29)

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Michelle, Craig, what do I need to know about your earliest context to understand the adults? And I use that word intentionally, because I know that's what your parents were intent on raising. The adults that are in front of me today.

Michelle Obama (2:30)

It starts at 7436 South Euclid, the hub of it all. That was the home that we grew up in on the south side of Chicago. And it was a teeny tiny house. We lived above our Aunt Robbie. It was a single-family home, a bungalow on the south side of Chicago. And our Aunt Robbie was married to her husband, Terry. And they owned the home. And they had a little bitty, almost one-bedroom, two-bedroom apartment over the home. So it was a two-family home. We were surrounded by extended family. That community of people that you, probably because people didn't have a lot of resources, people lived with each other. You know, you shared spaces, you lived next to one another. And we lived with our great aunt because it helped our parents save some money and get us in a better neighborhood because my father was a city worker. He was a working class guy, didn't have a college education. And working for the city was a really stable job because it gave you benefits and some stability.

And my mom wanted to stay home and raise kids. So in order to save that kind of money, we band together and lived with our aunt, Robbie, and all of the adventures and the lessons learned. When I think about my foundational values, that house really and all the experiences and conversations, the beginning of my kitchen table happened on 74th and Euclid. And I talk about it because you think it was a palace, but this was a little home. We shared a bedroom most of our lives because there just wasn't room for us to each have our own room. And we shared the space, one bathroom, there was no dining room, there was just a kitchen.