00:00:02
delegates members of the national board
00:00:06
of directors of the NAACP and all those
00:00:08
who are assembled it is with great
00:00:11
pleasure that I greet you this morning
00:00:13
on the second day of the first
00:00:17
n-double-a-cp s convention in its second
00:00:20
century here in the heartland of america
00:00:23
Kansas City Missouri as we gather here
00:00:31
this morning under the banner of one
00:00:33
nation one dream we are privileged to
00:00:36
have with us the first lady of the
00:00:39
United States of America
00:00:41
[Applause]
00:00:46
she exemplifies the reality of a dream
00:00:50
come true and she is certainly a woman
00:00:55
on the move she's working to help all
00:00:58
Americans realize their dreams it is
00:01:02
indeed a signal honor for me as chairman
00:01:06
of this National Board of Directors to
00:01:08
welcome first lady Michelle Obama to
00:01:12
this convention well she will share with
00:01:15
us her views on childhood obesity and
00:01:18
how this next generation we can help
00:01:21
them lose weight we look forward to
00:01:24
hearing what she has to say but through
00:01:27
her leadership we believe that she can
00:01:30
and she will ensure that the issue of
00:01:34
childhood obesity will be at the
00:01:37
forefront of our nation's agenda we are
00:01:40
committed to working with the first lady
00:01:43
on her initiative so delegates are you
00:01:47
ready are you fired up
00:01:51
are you ready well let's move out of our
00:01:56
seats and welcome to this stage the
00:02:01
woman who represents this nation our
00:02:04
first lady
00:02:05
the Honorable Michelle Obama the first
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lady of the United States
00:02:12
[Applause]
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Oh
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Wow oh my goodness
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thank you all thank you so so much
00:02:51
everyone please please please take your
00:02:54
seats I thank you so much it is it is
00:03:04
such a pleasure and it is an honor to be
00:03:10
here today the what for the one hundred
00:03:12
and first in double-a-c-p
00:03:14
convention yes I want to start by
00:03:21
thanking chairman Rosalind brach
00:03:23
beautiful woman for that very kind
00:03:26
introduction and I mentioned to her I
00:03:31
said her mother is hot she's gorgeous
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good genes I also want to thank both her
00:03:39
and your president and CEO Ben Jealous
00:03:42
for their inspired leadership of this
00:03:46
organization let's give them a round of
00:03:49
applause I want to thank a few other
00:03:56
people as well who were here I want to
00:03:57
thank Governor Nixon and the first lady
00:04:00
Georgiana Nixon who were here I want to
00:04:05
thank Senator McCaskill who was here
00:04:08
who's no longer here but I wanted to say
00:04:10
hello to her representatives Cleaver
00:04:12
Moore and Scott who are here and mayor
00:04:17
Funkhouser for all the outstanding work
00:04:21
that all of you are doing for the people
00:04:23
of the city and for this great state and
00:04:26
for taking time to join us today so
00:04:30
let's give them all around them
00:04:33
and finally I want to thank all of you I
00:04:39
want to thank you for a few things first
00:04:41
of all thank you for being here today
00:04:43
and thank you for the outstanding work
00:04:47
that you've done in making this a great
00:04:50
American institution and also I have to
00:04:54
thank you for your prayers for your
00:04:58
support I cannot tell you how much that
00:05:01
means to me and my girls and my mom and
00:05:05
their my husband as well thank you all
00:05:10
so so much it really keeps us going and
00:05:14
I am just thrilled to be here
00:05:18
101 years ago the n-double-a-cp was
00:05:22
established in pursuit of a simple goal
00:05:26
and that was to spur this nation to live
00:05:30
up to the founding ideals to secure
00:05:34
those blessings of liberty to fulfill
00:05:38
that promise of equality and since then
00:05:41
the work of this organization has been
00:05:43
guided by a simple belief that while we
00:05:47
might not fully live out that promise or
00:05:50
those blessings for ourselves if we
00:05:54
worked hard enough and fought long
00:05:57
enough and believed strongly enough that
00:05:59
we could secure them for our children
00:06:03
and for our grandchildren and give them
00:06:06
opportunities that we never dreamed of
00:06:08
for ourselves so
00:06:13
for more than a century the men and
00:06:16
women of the n-double a-c-p have marched
00:06:19
and protested you have lobbied
00:06:22
presidents and fought unjust laws you've
00:06:26
stood up and sat in and risk life and
00:06:30
limb so that african-americans could
00:06:33
take their rightful places not just at
00:06:35
lunch counters and on buses but at
00:06:39
universities and on battlefields and in
00:06:43
hospitals and boardrooms in Congress the
00:06:46
Supreme Court and yes
00:06:49
even the White House think about it even
00:06:58
the White House so I know that I stand
00:07:02
here today and I know that my husband
00:07:05
stands where he is today because of this
00:07:09
organization and because of the
00:07:12
struggles and the sacrifices of all
00:07:15
those who came before us but I also know
00:07:20
that their legacy isn't an entitlement
00:07:22
to be taken for granted and I know it is
00:07:26
not simply a gift to be enjoyed instead
00:07:29
it is an obligation to be fulfilled and
00:07:33
when so many of our children still
00:07:36
attend crumbling schools and a black
00:07:39
child is still far more likely to go to
00:07:41
prison than a white child
00:07:43
I think the founders of this
00:07:45
organization would agree that our work
00:07:48
is not yet done
00:07:51
when african-american communities are
00:07:54
still hit harder than just about
00:07:57
anywhere by this economic downturn and
00:08:01
so many families are just barely
00:08:03
scraping by I think the founders would
00:08:06
tell us that now is not the time to rest
00:08:09
on our laurels
00:08:10
when stubborn inequality still persist
00:08:13
in education and health in income and
00:08:17
wealth I think those founders would urge
00:08:19
us to increase our intensity and to
00:08:23
increase our discipline and our focus
00:08:25
and keep fighting for
00:08:27
a future for our children and our
00:08:29
grandchildren and that's why I really
00:08:35
wanted to come here today because I
00:08:37
wanted to talk with you about an issue
00:08:39
that I believe cries out for our
00:08:41
attention one that is a particular
00:08:44
concern to me not just as first lady but
00:08:47
as a mother who believes that we owe it
00:08:51
to our kids to prepare them for the
00:08:54
challenges that we know lie ahead and
00:08:57
that issue is the epidemic of childhood
00:08:59
obesity in America today now right now
00:09:03
in America one in three children is
00:09:09
overweight or obese putting them a
00:09:12
greater risk of obesity really related
00:09:14
conditions like diabetes and cancer
00:09:16
heart disease asthma and we're already
00:09:20
spending billions of dollars in this
00:09:22
country a year to treat these conditions
00:09:24
and that number is only going to go up
00:09:27
when these unhealthy children reach
00:09:30
adulthood but it's important to be clear
00:09:35
that this issue isn't about how our kids
00:09:38
look it's not about that it's about how
00:09:41
our kids feel it's about their health
00:09:44
and the health of our nation and the
00:09:46
health of our economy and there's no
00:09:49
doubt that this is a serious problem
00:09:51
it's one that is affecting every
00:09:53
community across this country but just
00:09:55
like with so many other challenges that
00:09:58
we face as a nation the african-american
00:10:01
community is being hit even harder by
00:10:03
this issue we are living today in a time
00:10:08
where we're decades beyond slavery we
00:10:11
are decades beyond Jim Crow when one of
00:10:14
the greatest risks to our children's
00:10:16
future is their own health
00:10:21
african-american children are
00:10:23
significantly more likely to be obese
00:10:26
than our white children nearly half of
00:10:31
african-american children will develop
00:10:34
diabetes at some point in their lives
00:10:37
people that's half of our children
00:10:40
and if we don't do something to reverse
00:10:43
this trend right now our kids won't be
00:10:46
in any shape to continue the work begun
00:10:49
by the founders of this great
00:10:50
organization they won't be in any
00:10:56
condition to confront all those
00:10:58
challenges that we know still remain so
00:11:01
we need to take this issue seriously as
00:11:04
seriously as improving underachieving
00:11:08
schools as seriously as eliminating
00:11:11
youth violence or stopping the spread of
00:11:14
hiv/aids or any of the other issues that
00:11:16
we know are devastating our communities
00:11:20
but in order to address this challenge
00:11:23
we also need to be honest with ourselves
00:11:25
about how we got here because we know
00:11:29
that it wasn't always like this for our
00:11:31
kids in our communities the way we live
00:11:35
today it is very different from even
00:11:38
when I was growing up I like to tell my
00:11:40
kids I'm not that old they don't agree
00:11:46
many of you probably grew up like I did
00:11:49
in a community that wasn't rich not even
00:11:53
middle class but where people knew their
00:11:55
neighbors they looked out for each
00:11:57
other's kids and he's kind of strong
00:12:01
african-american communities we went to
00:12:04
neighborhood schools around the corner
00:12:07
so many of us had to walk to and from
00:12:10
school every day rain or shine I know
00:12:12
you've told that story and in Chicago
00:12:16
where I was raised we did it in the dead
00:12:18
of winter no shoes on our feet it was
00:12:21
hard but we walked and in school we had
00:12:29
recess twice a day in gym class twice a
00:12:31
week
00:12:33
like it or not and then when we got home
00:12:36
in the afternoon after school or in the
00:12:39
summer there was no way we'd be allowed
00:12:42
to lie around the house watching TV
00:12:46
first of all there wasn't that many
00:12:47
channels our parents made us get up and
00:12:53
play outside had to get up get out
00:12:57
couldn't didn't happen couldn't be
00:12:59
inside and we would spend hours riding
00:13:02
bikes playing softball freeze tag
00:13:05
jumping double-dutch kids now there
00:13:07
don't even nodded jump double dutch we
00:13:11
were constantly on the move only
00:13:14
stopping to eat or what when a street
00:13:17
lights came on right and eating was a
00:13:22
totally different experience back then
00:13:24
in my house we rarely ate out rarely
00:13:31
even when both parents worked outside of
00:13:33
the home most families in my
00:13:35
neighborhood sat down at the table
00:13:37
together as a family for meal and in my
00:13:43
house
00:13:44
Marian Robinson's house we ate what we
00:13:48
were served
00:13:50
my mother never cared whether me and my
00:13:55
brother liked what was on our place
00:13:57
we either ate what was there or we
00:14:00
didn't eat as as simple as that
00:14:03
we never ate anything fancy but the
00:14:06
portion sizes were reasonable and there
00:14:08
were rarely seconds maybe for your
00:14:11
father but not for you and there was
00:14:14
always a vegetable on the plate and many
00:14:19
of our grandparents tended their own
00:14:22
gardens or they relied on as my father
00:14:26
that told me the vegetable man who
00:14:29
brought fresh produce that was how
00:14:32
people got by back then they had fresh
00:14:35
fruits and vegetables in their own
00:14:37
backyards
00:14:38
and in jars and their cellar doing the
00:14:41
winter and that wasn't just being
00:14:43
thrifty that was healthy too little did
00:14:46
we don't and unless it was Sunday or
00:14:49
somebody's birthday there was no
00:14:52
expectation of dessert after our meals
00:14:55
and we didn't dream of asking for soda
00:14:57
or pop or that was for special occasions
00:15:01
now if you were lucky you might get a
00:15:03
quarter or two to take to the corner
00:15:05
store and get some penny candy but you
00:15:08
did not eat it all at once because you
00:15:10
never knew when you'd see another piece
00:15:11
of candy so you saved it in that little
00:15:16
brown bag under your bed that bag would
00:15:21
be all worn out sweaty
00:15:24
you'd hold on in that bag take out a
00:15:27
half a piece of candy every other day
00:15:32
back then without any expert advice and
00:15:37
without spending too much money we
00:15:40
managed to lead pretty healthy lives but
00:15:44
things are a little different today and
00:15:46
many kids these days aren't so fortunate
00:15:50
you know so many kids can attend
00:15:53
neighborhood schools or don't so instead
00:15:55
of walking to school they're riding a
00:15:58
car they're in a bus and in too many
00:16:01
schools recess and gym class have been
00:16:04
slashed because of budget cuts fears
00:16:07
about safety mean that those afternoons
00:16:10
outside have been replaced by afternoons
00:16:14
inside with TV video games the Internet
00:16:16
in fact studies have found that
00:16:19
african-american children spend an
00:16:21
average of nearly 6 hours a day watching
00:16:26
TV and that every extra hour of TV they
00:16:30
watch is associated with the consumption
00:16:32
of an additional additional 167 calories
00:16:38
and for many folks those nutritious
00:16:41
family meals are a thing of the past
00:16:43
because a lot of people today are living
00:16:45
in communities without a single grocery
00:16:48
store so they have to take two three
00:16:53
buses a taxi walk four miles just to buy
00:16:55
a head of lettuce for a salad or to get
00:16:58
some fresh fruit for their kids most
00:17:02
folks don't grow their own food the way
00:17:06
many of our parents and grandparents did
00:17:08
a lot of folks also just don't have the
00:17:10
time to cook at home on a regular basis
00:17:13
so instead they wind up grabbing fast
00:17:16
food or something from the corner store
00:17:18
the mini-mart places that have few if
00:17:20
any healthy options and we've seen how
00:17:23
kids in our communities regularly stop
00:17:25
by these stores on their way to school
00:17:28
buying themselves sodas and pop and
00:17:31
chips for breakfast and we've seen how
00:17:34
they come right back to those same
00:17:35
stores after school to buy their
00:17:38
afternoon snack of candy and sugary
00:17:40
drinks according to one study on average
00:17:44
a trip to the corner store a child will
00:17:47
walk out of that store with more than
00:17:50
350 calories worth of food and beverage
00:17:53
this is on average so they're going to
00:17:56
and three times a day that can really
00:18:00
add up and take it together all of these
00:18:02
things have made for perfect storm of
00:18:06
bad habits and unhealthy choices a
00:18:10
lifestyle that's dooming to many of our
00:18:13
children to a lifetime of poor health
00:18:17
and undermining our best efforts to
00:18:20
build them a better future c-can we can
00:18:25
build our kids the best schools on earth
00:18:27
but if they don't have the basic
00:18:30
nutrition they need to concentrate
00:18:32
they're still going to have a challenge
00:18:34
learning and we can create the best jobs
00:18:38
in the world we must but that won't mean
00:18:42
that folks will have the energy and the
00:18:45
stamina to actually do those jobs we can
00:18:49
offer people the best health care money
00:18:51
can buy but if they're still leading
00:18:53
unhealthy lives then we'll still just be
00:18:56
treating those diseases and conditions
00:18:59
once they've developed rather than
00:19:02
keeping people from getting sick in the
00:19:05
first place see and the thing is is that
00:19:09
none of us wants that kind of future for
00:19:11
our kids or for our country and surely
00:19:16
the men and women of the n-double a-c-p
00:19:17
haven't spent a century organizing and
00:19:21
advocating and working day and night
00:19:22
only to raise the first generation in
00:19:26
history that might be on track to live
00:19:29
shorter lives than their parents and
00:19:32
that's why I've made improving the
00:19:35
quality of our children's health one of
00:19:38
my top priorities as many of you may
00:19:40
know my efforts began with the planning
00:19:43
of a garden on the South Lawn of the
00:19:45
White House
00:19:48
but it's important to understand that
00:19:51
this garden symbolizes so much more than
00:19:54
just watching beautiful things grow it's
00:19:57
become a way to spark a broader
00:19:59
conversation about the health and
00:20:01
well-being not just of our kids but of
00:20:04
our communities and in an effort to
00:20:06
elevate that conversation nationally we
00:20:09
launched Let's Move it's a nationwide
00:20:11
campaign to rally this country around a
00:20:14
single ambitious goal and that is to
00:20:16
solve childhood obesity in a generation
00:20:19
so that children born today reach
00:20:21
adulthood at a healthy weight and
00:20:24
through this initiative we are bringing
00:20:26
together governors and mayors businesses
00:20:28
and community groups educators parents
00:20:31
athletes health professionals you name
00:20:33
it because it is going to take all of us
00:20:36
working together to help our kids lead
00:20:38
healthier lives right from the beginning
00:20:41
let's move the campaign has four
00:20:44
components the first we're working to
00:20:47
give parents the information they need
00:20:49
to make healthy decisions for their
00:20:51
families for example we're working with
00:20:53
the FDA and the food industry to provide
00:20:56
better labeling something simple so
00:20:58
folks don't have to spend hours
00:20:59
squinting at labels trying to figure out
00:21:01
whether the food they're buying is
00:21:03
healthy or not our new health care
00:21:07
legislation requires chain restaurants
00:21:10
to post the calories in the food they
00:21:12
serve so that parents have the
00:21:14
information they need to make healthy
00:21:15
choices for their kids and restaurants
00:21:18
and we're working with doctors and
00:21:22
pediatricians to ensure that they
00:21:24
routinely screen our children for
00:21:27
obesity and I can personally attest to
00:21:29
the value of these screenings based on
00:21:32
my own personal experiences because it
00:21:35
wasn't that long ago when the Obamas
00:21:37
weren't exactly eating as healthy as we
00:21:39
should have been and it was our
00:21:41
daughter's pediatrician who actually
00:21:43
pulled us aside and suggested that I
00:21:46
think about making some changes to our
00:21:48
family's diet and it made the world of
00:21:50
difference
00:21:51
but we also know that giving better
00:21:54
information to parents is not enough
00:21:56
because with 31mm
00:22:00
in American children participating in
00:22:02
federal school meal programs many of our
00:22:05
kids are consuming as many as half their
00:22:07
daily calories at school that's why the
00:22:10
second part of Let's Move is to get
00:22:12
healthier food into our schools and
00:22:18
we're working to reauthorize our trial
00:22:22
nutrition legislation that will make
00:22:25
significant new investments to revamp
00:22:28
our school meals and improve the food
00:22:30
that we offer in those school vending
00:22:32
machines so that we're serving our kids
00:22:34
less sugar salt and fat and more
00:22:37
vegetables fruits and whole grains
00:22:39
this is bipartisan legislation and it is
00:22:42
critically important for the health and
00:22:44
success of our children and we are
00:22:46
hoping that Congress will act swiftly to
00:22:49
get this passed but
00:22:56
we also know that healthy eating is only
00:22:59
half the battle
00:23:00
experts recommend at least 60 minutes a
00:23:03
day of activity that's at least the bare
00:23:05
minimum and many of our kids aren't even
00:23:08
close so the third part of Let's Move is
00:23:11
to help our kids get moving to find new
00:23:14
ways for them to get and stay active and
00:23:17
fit and we're working to get more kids
00:23:19
participating in daily physical
00:23:21
education classes and to get more
00:23:24
schools offering recess for their
00:23:26
students we've set a goal of increasing
00:23:28
the number of kids who walk or ride
00:23:31
their bikes to school by 50% in the next
00:23:33
five years and we've recruited
00:23:36
professional athletes they have been
00:23:38
fantastic from different sports leagues
00:23:41
to inspire our kids to get up off that
00:23:44
couch and to get moving but we know that
00:23:48
even if we offer the most nutritious
00:23:50
school meals and we give kids every
00:23:54
opportunity to be fit and we give
00:23:56
parents the information they need to
00:23:58
prepare healthy food for their families
00:24:00
all that won't mean much if our families
00:24:04
still live in communities where that
00:24:06
healthy food simply isn't available in
00:24:08
the first place and that brings me to
00:24:11
the fourth and final component of the
00:24:13
campaign and that is to ensure that all
00:24:15
families have access to fresh affordable
00:24:18
food in their communities where they
00:24:21
live
00:24:24
and one of the most shocking statistics
00:24:27
for me and all of this is that right now
00:24:29
twenty three point five million
00:24:31
Americans including 6.5 million children
00:24:34
live in what we call food deserts areas
00:24:38
without a single supermarket this is
00:24:43
particularly serious in African American
00:24:46
communities where folks wind up buying
00:24:48
their groceries at places like gas
00:24:51
stations and bodegas and corner stores
00:24:54
where they often pay higher prices for
00:24:56
lower quality food but the good news is
00:25:01
that we know that this trend is
00:25:02
reversible weather because when
00:25:04
healthier options are available in our
00:25:06
community we know that folks will
00:25:09
actually take advantage of those options
00:25:10
one study found that African Americans
00:25:13
ate 32% more fruits and vegetables for
00:25:17
each additional supermarket in their
00:25:19
community so we know the kind of
00:25:21
difference that we can make with some
00:25:23
changes we know that when we provide the
00:25:26
right incentives things like grants and
00:25:29
tax credits and help securing permits
00:25:32
and zoning businesses are willing to
00:25:34
invest and lay down roots in our
00:25:36
communities and many grocers are finding
00:25:39
that when they set up shop in high-need
00:25:41
areas they can actually make a decent
00:25:44
profit they are learning that they can
00:25:46
do well by doing good
00:25:49
so as part of Let's Move we proposed a
00:25:52
healthy food financing initiative a 400
00:25:56
million dollar-a-year fund that we'll
00:25:58
use to attract hundreds of millions of
00:26:01
more dollars from the private and
00:26:02
nonprofit sectors to bring grocery
00:26:04
stores and other healthy food retailers
00:26:07
to underserved areas across the country
00:26:10
and our goal is ambitious we want to
00:26:13
eliminate food deserts in this country
00:26:15
within seven years and create jobs and
00:26:18
revitalize neighborhoods along the way
00:26:22
so
00:26:24
I know these goals are ambitious and
00:26:27
there are many many more and as first
00:26:30
lady I am going to do everything that I
00:26:33
can to ensure that we meet them but I
00:26:36
also know that at the end of the day
00:26:39
government can only do so much I have
00:26:43
spoken to so many experts about this
00:26:45
issue and not a single one of them said
00:26:47
that the solution is to have government
00:26:49
tell people what to do it's not going to
00:26:51
work instead this is about families
00:26:55
taking responsibility and making
00:26:59
manageable changes that fit with their
00:27:01
budgets and their needs and their tastes
00:27:03
that's the only way it's going to work
00:27:04
it's about making those little changes
00:27:07
that can really add up simple things
00:27:09
like taking the stairs instead of the
00:27:11
elevator walking instead of riding in a
00:27:14
car or bus even something as simple as
00:27:16
turning on the radio and dancing with
00:27:19
your children in the middle of your
00:27:21
living room for hours I work up a sweat
00:27:26
how about replacing all of that soda and
00:27:30
those sugary drinks with water kids
00:27:34
won't like it at first trust me but they
00:27:37
will grow to like it or deciding that
00:27:42
they don't get dessert with every meal
00:27:44
as I tell my kids dessert is not a right
00:27:49
or they don't get it every day or just
00:27:52
being more thoughtful about how we
00:27:54
prepare our food baking instead of
00:27:57
frying I know don't shoot me
00:28:03
and cutting back on those portion sizes
00:28:07
look no one wants to give up Sunday meal
00:28:10
no one wants to say goodbye to mac and
00:28:12
cheese and fried chicken and mashed
00:28:15
potatoes off I'm getting hungry
00:28:17
forever no one wants to do that not even
00:28:22
the Obamas trust me but chefs across the
00:28:26
country are showing us that with a few
00:28:28
simple changes and substitutions we can
00:28:31
find healthy creative solutions that
00:28:33
work for our families and our
00:28:35
communities and that's why I am excited
00:28:38
about our new let's cook video series
00:28:41
which we're launching on our Let's Move
00:28:46
website at letsmove.gov this is a great
00:28:50
series featuring Sam Kass who a lot of
00:28:52
people think is cute I don't know if
00:28:54
that helps but this series features some
00:28:57
of the country's top chefs who be
00:28:59
demonstrating how folks can prepare
00:29:02
simple affordable nutritious meals for
00:29:04
their families the first guest chef is a
00:29:07
guy by the name of Marvin woods who's
00:29:10
known for his cuisine based in North
00:29:12
Africa the Caribbean South America the
00:29:14
low country he's demonstrating how to
00:29:17
prepare a week of healthy and tasty
00:29:19
dinners for a family of four on a tight
00:29:22
budget
00:29:22
ante provides recipes shopping lists so
00:29:25
that folks can do it all themselves at
00:29:27
home and finally it's one thing we can
00:29:31
think about is working to make sure that
00:29:35
our kids get a healthy start from the
00:29:37
beginning by promoting breastfeeding in
00:29:39
our communities one thing we do know is
00:29:45
that babies that are breastfed are less
00:29:49
likely to be obese as children but 40%
00:29:54
of African American babies are never
00:29:56
breastfed at all not even during the
00:29:59
first weeks of their lives and we know
00:30:02
that this isn't possible it practical
00:30:04
for some mothers but we've got a WIC
00:30:06
program that's providing new support to
00:30:09
low incomes moms who want to try so that
00:30:12
they get the support they need and under
00:30:14
the new health care legislation
00:30:16
businesses will now have to accommodate
00:30:18
mothers who want to continue
00:30:20
breastfeeding once they get back to work
00:30:27
now the menu may not understand how
00:30:30
important that is but trust me it's
00:30:33
important to have a place to go but
00:30:36
let's be clear this isn't just about
00:30:39
changing what our kids are eating and
00:30:41
the lifestyles they're leading it's also
00:30:45
about changing our own habits as well
00:30:47
because believe it or not if you're
00:30:50
obese there's a 40% chance that your
00:30:54
kids will be obese as well and if both
00:30:56
you and the child's are the parent or
00:30:58
obese that number jumps to 80% and this
00:31:03
is more than just genetics at work I
00:31:06
mean the fact is that we all know we are
00:31:08
our children's first and best teachers
00:31:11
and role models we teach them healthy
00:31:14
habits not just by what we say but by
00:31:17
how we live shoot I can't tell Malia and
00:31:20
Sasha to eat their vegetables if I'm
00:31:22
sitting around eating candy and french
00:31:24
fries trust me they will not let that
00:31:26
happen I can't tell them to go run
00:31:29
around outside if I'm spending all my
00:31:30
free time on the couch watching TV and
00:31:33
this isn't just about the example that
00:31:36
we set as individuals and its families
00:31:38
but about the lifestyle we're promoting
00:31:40
in our communities as well it's about
00:31:43
the example we set in our schools
00:31:46
it's about schools like the Kelly
00:31:48
Edwards elementary school in Williston
00:31:50
South Carolina it's a bronze award
00:31:53
winner in our USDA healthier us School
00:31:56
Challenge this is a school where
00:31:57
students have planted their own gardens
00:32:00
so that they can taste all kinds of
00:32:02
fresh vegetables and they stay active
00:32:04
because they've got their own dance team
00:32:06
and it's also about establishing strong
00:32:09
community partnerships that involve
00:32:12
folks from every sector in every
00:32:14
background there's a fresh food
00:32:17
financing initiative in Pennsylvania
00:32:19
it's a great example this initiative is
00:32:22
a collaboration between business
00:32:23
nonprofit and government that's funded
00:32:25
more than 80 Supermarket projects
00:32:28
bringing nutritious foods to hundreds of
00:32:30
thousands of people and underserved
00:32:32
communities these are just a couple of
00:32:36
the thousands of programs and projects
00:32:38
that are making a difference in
00:32:40
communities across the country already
00:32:42
so if there's anybody here after all
00:32:44
this talk and I've done who feels a
00:32:48
little overwhelmed by this challenge
00:32:50
because it can be overwhelming if there
00:32:53
is anyone here who might even already be
00:32:56
losing hope thinking about how hard it
00:32:59
will be to get going or giving up I just
00:33:02
want you to take a look around at all
00:33:05
the things that are already being
00:33:06
accomplished because I want folks to
00:33:08
learn from each other and to be inspired
00:33:10
by each other because that's what we've
00:33:13
always done that is exactly what
00:33:16
happened here in the city half a century
00:33:19
ago see because back in 1958 folks right
00:33:23
here in Kansas City saw what folks down
00:33:27
in Montgomery had achieved with their
00:33:30
bus boycott so they were inspired by all
00:33:34
those men and women who walk miles walk
00:33:39
miles home each day on ache and feet
00:33:41
because they knew there was a principle
00:33:44
at stake so folks here organize their
00:33:49
own boycott of department stores that
00:33:51
refused to serve african-americans
00:33:54
handbills publicizing their meetings
00:33:57
stated and this is a quote they stopped
00:34:01
riding in Montgomery so let's stop
00:34:05
buying in Kansas City a local music
00:34:09
teacher even composed a song that became
00:34:12
the anthem for their efforts it was
00:34:15
entitled let's take the walk that counts
00:34:18
and then as you know a few years later
00:34:22
in April of 1964 folks turned out in
00:34:26
droves to pass a public accommodations
00:34:29
law mandating that all residents
00:34:31
regardless of their skin color be served
00:34:35
in restaurants hotels and other public
00:34:37
places even folks who were too sick to
00:34:41
walk
00:34:42
showed up to vote one organizer for
00:34:46
called that they used wheelchairs to get
00:34:49
people to the polls and even brought one
00:34:51
man in on a stretcher see so think about
00:34:55
that
00:34:56
being carried to the ballot box on a
00:34:59
stretcher
00:35:01
those folks didn't do all that just for
00:35:04
themselves they did it because they
00:35:08
wanted something better for their
00:35:10
children and for their grandchildren
00:35:13
that's why they did it and in the end
00:35:16
that's what has driven this organization
00:35:20
since its founding it is why Daisy Bates
00:35:24
endured hate mail and death threats to
00:35:29
guide those nine young men and women who
00:35:32
would walk through those schoolhouse
00:35:34
doors in Little Rock it is why third
00:35:38
good marshal fought so hard to ensure
00:35:41
that children like Linda brown and
00:35:43
children like my daughters and your sons
00:35:46
and daughters would never again know the
00:35:49
cruel inequality of separate but equal
00:35:51
it is why so many men and women legends
00:35:56
and icons and ordinary folks have faced
00:35:59
down their doubts their cynicism and
00:36:03
their fears and they've taken that walk
00:36:07
that counts so we owe it to all those
00:36:11
who come before us to ensure that all
00:36:14
those who come after us our children and
00:36:17
our grandchildren that they have the
00:36:18
strength and the energy and the enduring
00:36:21
good health that they need to continue
00:36:23
and complete that journey so I'm asking
00:36:26
you in double-a-c-p
00:36:27
will you move with me let's move I'm
00:36:32
going to need you in double-a-c-p this
00:36:35
is not an endeavor that I can do by
00:36:37
myself we cannot change the health of
00:36:40
our community alone
00:36:42
I'm going to need each and every single
00:36:43
one of you to work together for this
00:36:46
campaign for our children's future if we
00:36:50
do this together we can change the way
00:36:52
our children think about their health
00:36:54
forever so I want to thank you all in
00:36:58
advance again for your prayers your
00:37:00
thoughts and your support the struggle
00:37:03
continues thank you all god bless you
00:37:05
god bless this organization and god
00:37:08
bless america
00:37:09
thank you all so much
00:37:10
[Applause]
