Michelle Obama Says "Making Mistakes Was Not An Option For Us . . . We Had To Be Outstanding"

Our beloved former First Lady Michelle Obama talked openly about race and the expectations and pressures that came with being "the first" black couple to occupy the White House. Michelle was speaking at the American Library Association's annual conference in New Orleans on Friday.

“Barack and I knew very early that we would be measured by a different yardstick,” Obama said of her husband’s tenure as the nation’s first black president during a conversation with Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden. “Making mistakes was not an option for us. Not that we didn’t make mistakes, but we had to be good — no, we had to be outstanding — at everything we did….When you’re the first, you’re the one that’s laying the red carpet down for others to follow.” 

Michelle's conversation came in advance of the November release of her upcoming memoir 'Becoming'. She spoke particularly on the subject of race, saying: "It's just a shame that sometimes people will see me, and they will only see my color, and then they'll make certain judgments about that," she said. "That's dangerous, for us to dehumanize each other in that way. We are all just people."