Former First Lady
Michelle Obama speaks with Wayne
State University students at the
Motown Museum in Detroit,
Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (AP
Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michelle
Obama
surprises
Detroit
students
at
Motown
Museum
By
MIKE
HOUSEHOLDER
APNews.com
DETROIT
-
Michelle
Obama
surprised
a group
of
Detroit
college
students
on
Tuesday
afternoon,
walking
into the
Motown
Museum
as the
young
men of
color
took
part in
a
roundtable
discussion
on
education.
The
former
first
lady was
greeted
with
smiles,
looks of
astonishment
and
applause
after
entering
the
second
floor of
the
building
where
Berry
Gordy
created
sonic
history
more
than a
half-century
ago. She
hugged
her
brother
Craig
Robinson
and
Keegan-Michael
Key, an
actor
and
native
Detroiter
who
moderated
the
discussion
that was
organized
by
Obama’s
Reach
Higher
initiative.
“This
was
supposed
to be
for boys
only,”
Robinson
said
after
they sat
down,
eliciting
laughter
from his
sister
and the
more
than a
dozen
students
from
nearby
Wayne
State
University.
“What’s
going
on,”
Obama
then
asked,
echoing
the
title of
Marvin
Gaye’s
classic
Motown
tune.
“We’re
just
talking
about
education,”
Key
answered,
before
mock-asking
if it
would be
OK with
them if
Obama
sat in
on their
chat.
Obama
listened
as the
students
spoke
about
their
experiences
in life
and
school
and
encouraged
them to
practice
“discomfort”
and not
be
afraid
to try
new
things.
“Universities
are
looking
for and
should
be
looking
for a
diverse
array of
experiences,”
she
said.
“People
who come
from
different
backgrounds,
because
if
everybody
looked
the same
and
experienced
life the
same way
what
would
these
conversations
be like?
Just a
bunch of
people
agreeing
with
each
other.”
Obama
was in
Detroit
as part
of her
book
tour,
which
had a
nighttime
stop
planned
at
Little
Caesars
Arena,
home to
the
NBA’s
Pistons
and the
NHL’s
Red
Wings.
The tour
is in
support
of
Obama’s
best-selling
memoir,
“Becoming.”
The
museum
is
located
where
company
founder
Gordy
launched
his
music
empire.
The
label
started
in 1959,
and
scores
of stars
and hits
were
created
before
Motown
relocated
to
California
in 1972.
The
label
will
mark its
60th
anniversary
next
year.
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