Michelle Obama says the 'blood of Africa' runs through her veins as she addresses 500 of her African 'brothers and sisters'
- First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at the Summit of the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders
- She urged changing traditional beliefs on the worth of educating women
- President Obama shied away from discussing his African heritage at the summit on Monday
First lady Michelle Obama embraced her family’s African roots in a speech today, telling a young audience that the 'blood of Africa' runs through her veins as she urged changing traditional beliefs on the worth of educating women.
Her husband had shied away from discussing his African heritage in his own remarks to the 500 Africans finishing a six-week Washington leadership fellowship on Monday, referencing his Kenyan father only once in the question-and-answer session.
But Michelle Obama said as an African American woman, her discussion with the African youth was 'deeply personal'.
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![First lady Michelle Obama spoke to selected participants of the Presidential Summit for the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in Washington today](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-2021CE4900000578-666_634x370.jpg)
First lady Michelle Obama spoke to selected participants of the Presidential Summit for the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in Washington today
![Michelle Obama hugs a participant of the Presidential Summit for the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in Washington](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-2021CE8D00000578-584_634x434.jpg)
Michelle Obama hugs a participant of the Presidential Summit for the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in Washington
'The roots of my family tree are in Africa,' the first lady told the cheering crowd.
'My husband’s father was born and raised in Kenya. Members of our extended family still live there.
'I have had the pleasure of traveling to Africa many times over the years, including four trips as First Lady, and I have brought my mother and my daughters along whenever I can.
'The blood of Africa runs through my veins, and I care deeply,' Obama said, addressing her listeners as her 'brothers' and 'sisters.'
Three months before congressional elections that could determine the fate of much of President Obama’s platform, Michelle Obama’s popularity remains high while her husband’s has sunk.
![Fashionable First Lady Michelle Obama wore a buttoned down floral dress for the event in Washington](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-2021A32100000578-722_306x540.jpg)
![Fashionable First Lady Michelle Obama wore a buttoned down floral dress for the event in Washington](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-2021A35200000578-188_306x540.jpg)
Fashionable First Lady Michelle Obama wore a buttoned down floral dress for the event in Washington
![Michelle Obama urged changing traditional beliefs on the worth of educating women at the summit](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-20219FC000000578-654_634x636.jpg)
Michelle Obama urged changing traditional beliefs on the worth of educating women at the summit
![Michelle Obama speaks to participants of the Presidential Summit](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-202177D000000578-713_634x344.jpg)
Michelle Obama speaks to participants of the Presidential Summit
The White House is making women’s empowerment a theme in a Washington African leaders summit next week.
Michelle Obama said problems with girls’ education often stemmed from traditional 'attitudes and beliefs' that exist even in the United States and lead to issues such as the gender pay gap and an under-representation of women in leadership.
She said men worldwide needed to 'look into their hearts and souls and ask if they truly view women as their equals.'
'I am who I am today because of the people in my family, particularly the men in my family, who valued me and invested in me from the day I was born,' Obama said.
'And as I grew up, the men who raised me set a high bar for the type of men I’d allow into my life - which is why I went on to marry a man who had the good sense to fall in love with a woman who was his equal, to treat me as such - a man who supports and reveres me, and who supports and reveres our daughters as well,' Obama said.
![Mrs Obama greets members of the audience after delivering remarks at the Summit](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-202206BC00000578-64_634x406.jpg)
Mrs Obama greets members of the audience after delivering remarks at the Summit
![Members of the audience waited to greet Michelle Obama after she addressed the Summit](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-2021CFC800000578-990_634x395.jpg)
Members of the audience waited to greet Michelle Obama after she addressed the Summit
![Meanwhile US President Barack Obama sampled some food while at Parkville Coffee during an unscheduled stop in Parkville, Missouri today](http://web.archive.org./web/20140803021910im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/30/article-2711201-202236F200000578-185_634x459.jpg)
Meanwhile US President Barack Obama sampled some food while at Parkville Coffee during an unscheduled stop in Parkville, Missouri today
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