The Seattle Times – Darlene Superville
“Michelle Obama on Friday called education the “single most important” civil-rights issue facing the country and pleaded with young people to make going to school a priority, even if all they have is a “bad school.” The first lady made her point at a Black History Month panel at the White House celebrating “women of the movement,” including two women who were not deterred by the mobs that assembled outside their schools in Arkansas and Georgia during the civil-rights era. Award-winning journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault was the first black woman to attend the University of Georgia, and Carlotta Walls La-Nier was one of the Little Rock Nine group of students who in 1957 integrated Little Rock Central High School after President Eisenhower sent troops to escort them. “Those are just two of countless stories about how folks who came before us stayed hungry for their education and paved the way for those who came after them, including me and so many in this room,” Michelle Obama told students, civil-rights advocates, community leaders and others.”(more)