Michelle Obama Urges Activism in Oberlin College Commencement Speech

The first lady championed a host of liberal causes in her speech to the class of 2015.

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the Elizabeth Dole FoundationÕs 2015 Hidden Heroes Coalition Summit: Progress and Promise at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center May 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. leaders from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congress, corporations, nonprofits and faith communities gathered to honor military and veteran caregivers from across the country.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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By David Knowles

May 25, 2015 at 8:02 PM UTC

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First lady Michelle Obama had a message for the graduates of Oberlin College on Monday: Get to work.

"I want to urge you to actively seek out the most contentious, polarized, gridlocked places you can find,'' Obama said during her commencement address at Ohio liberal-arts school. "Throughout our history, those have been the places where progress really happens, the places where minds are changed, lives transformed, where our great American story unfolds.''