Did First Lady Michelle Obama Imply That Latinos Are Underachievers?

Last week, our First Lady Michelle Obama at the annual convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, in New York City discussing the how far Latinos have come in terms of education and how far they have yet to go. The First Lady pointed out that “when it comes to college, Latinos are far more likely to drop out” and discussed the untapped potential of the Latino community.

“In the face of so many challenges and obstacles, you’re still asking the hard questions,” she said, at the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan where she was introduced by actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. “How do we instill in them that hunger for education? There are still too many young people in this country who aren’t getting the education they need. Too many young people in the Latino community just aren’t fulfilling their potential.”

She does have a good point! The Pew Research Center has found in a recent survey the most pressing issue in the Hispanic community is education, followed by jobs and the economy and healthcare.

“We have to reignite that hunger for education,” the first lady said. “Parents have to be reading to their kids from an early age and make sure they go to school every day and do their homework every night. Our young people, you have to make education your number one priority. If you know someone who’s not planning to go on past high school, I want you to reach out to them. ”