Michelle Obama pushes to help educate girls
NEW YORK — Michelle Obama tapped some big voices to help deliver her push to get girls educated across the world.
The U.S. first lady went to Broadway on Monday to host a concert for the spouses of global heads of state that included performances from the female-centric shows “The Color Purple,” “Waitress,” “Wicked” and “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
“More than 62 million girls around the world are counting on us to be their voice,” Obama said. “And I intend to continue speaking out on their behalf — not just for the rest of my time as first lady but for the rest of my life. And I hope that you all will join me.”
The concert was held at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre — the normal home of “The Color Purple” — as part of the Let Girls Learn initiative, which encourages world leaders to provide education opportunities to millions of girls globally who do not attend school.
“When people hear stories of girls who aren’t in school, they want to help. And as spouses of world leaders, so many of us here in this room have a platform that we can use to tell these stories and bring people together to take action for these girls. Because people will pick up the phone when we call,” Obama said.
The event took advantage of the gathering of world leaders in New York for the opening of the 71st United Nations General Assembly. More than 50 spouses attended, along with public school children and girl scouts who packed the theater.
