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Reporting on the state of education in your community and across the country.

First Lady Challenges Oberlin Grads in Memorial Day Commencement Speech

Photo courtesy of Tim Rudell / WKSU

First Lady Michelle Obama spent Memorial Day in Northeast Ohio.She spoke at the graduation ceremony for the Oberlin College class of 2015.This was the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King addressing the Oberlin class of 1965 with his ‘remain awake’ speech.America’s first African-American First Lady challenged this year’s graduates to reflect on a half century of change, and commit to bringing more.“Seek out the most contentious, polarized, grid-locked places you can find," she said.  "Because, so often, throughout our history those have been the places where progress really happens.  The places where minds are changed, lives are transformed, where our great American story unfolds.”Mrs. Obama also noted that Oberlin was the first college in the nation to regularly admit African American students, and the first to offer degree programs for women.