It's hard to contemplate that people are still holding racist views in this day and age, but it's even harder to imagine that the first black First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, is still at the receiving end of such views even after eight years of representing the nation.

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at the Phoenix AwardsBarack Obama and Michelle Obama at the Phoenix Awards

Unfortunately, that's the nature of Michelle's career, and in her first public appearance since leaving the White House she spoke about how hurtful the prejudice has been for her. She was at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Tuesday night (July 25th 2017) for the 30th anniversary of the Women's Foundation of Colorado where she was being interviewed by WFCO President and CEO Lauren Casteel. Lauren remarked that Michelle had broken 'the glass ceiling' as the first black First Lady, and asked which falling shards of glass cut the worst.

'The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut', she said, and went on to mention how she had been called an 'ape' on Twitter. 'Knowing that after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who won't see me for what I am because of my skin color.'

Still, she hasn't let those hurtful comments affect her confidence in herself. She continues to rise up and fight for women's rights, and the rights of children, the underprivileged and minorities everywhere. 'Women, we endure those cuts in so many ways that we don't even notice we're cut', she continued. 'We are living with small tiny cuts, and we are bleeding every single day. And we're still getting up.'

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In front of 8,300 attendees, she offered insight on a range of issues, and urged people not to feel discouraged by the politics of their nation as it currently stands. 'The people in this country are universally good and kind and honest and decent', she said. 'Don't be afraid of the country you live in. The folks here are good.'