Video preview of March 4th episode... First Lady Michelle Obama will discuss the Let's Move! campaign and the role of faith in her life in an interview that will air on BET Network show "Lift Every Voice" on Sunday, March 4. The First Lady filmed the interview with host Cory Condrey after her keynote speech for the second anniversary tour, given at Northland, a Church Distributed, in Florida on Feb. 11. (Above: Mrs. Obama with Condrey)
"We can't fool ourselves into thinking that we're gonna be good servants of God, good parents if we're not whole inside, I mean we've got to feed our bodies with the best stuff we can," Mrs. Obama tells Condrey.
The episode will feature clips from the Northland event, which spotlighted the Let's Move! Faith and Communities component of the campaign. Mrs. Obama will discusses "why she chose to tackle childhood obesity, other causes near and dear to her heart and the importance of faith and family in her life," according to BET.
Singer Yolanda Adams will also perform on the episode. The show premieres on Sunday, March 4, at 10 AM ET/9 Central with an encore presentation at 11 AM/10 Central.
Mrs. Obama attended the filming of the BET Honors award show earlier this year.
Harnessing the power of the pulpit to combat childhood obesity: If food is love, traditions have to be adapted, First Lady says... Longwood, Florida: On Saturday morning, First Lady Michelle Obama gave the longest speech of her three-day second anniversary tour for the Let's Move! campaign to a very excited crowd of about 3,000 at Northland, A Church Distributed. The mega-organization has a vast internet presence in addition to a brick and mortar location, and the huge sanctuary features jumbo video screens. It was dramatically lit for the First Lady's appearance, and she was preceded onstage by gospel vocalists, who were included in the White House's livestream of the event. During her remarks, Mrs. Obama celebrated not only the success of her campaign, but also the huge response from those involved in "Let's Move! Faith and Communities," a campaign component launched in November of 2010 to involve religious institutions and community organizations. (Above: Mrs. Obama speaking from the pulpit)
“America’s faith communities play a crucial role in guiding and strengthening not only our spiritual health, but our emotional and physical health as well,” Mrs. Obama said. The faith and communities component has received a major push from the campaign: Mrs. Obama's speech for the first anniversary of Let's Move! also took place at a church. About 78.4% of Americans identify as Christian, with 4.7% identifying themselves as members of other faiths, according to a survey from the Pew research group.
"Every day, you’re serving God by serving others. Every day, you’re proving that when we come together to do good works, no challenge is too big, no problem too hard, and there is no such thing as a hopeless cause. No such thing," Mrs. Obama said.
"And that, more than anything else, is the story of "Let's Move."
Clad in a purple dress with a cowl neckline, her hair rolled back, Mrs. Obama was quietly passionate as she hailed the efforts of America's faith leaders to support her campaign; the Northland audience included "more than 120 congregations and organizations representing at least 15 different faiths and denominations," Mrs. Obama said. During the past year, Mrs. Obama has received a huge series of private-sector pledges for the Let's Move! campaign, and she ticked these off in her speech. She also spoke about the importance of food in religious celebrations--and the importance of faith organizations making healthy changes to combat America's childhood obesity epidemic.
"Whether it’s Christmas supper, Passover Seder, Iftar dinner, so many of our most sacred holidays revolve around food," Mrs. Obama said. "All those familiar smells and tastes, and the memories that go along with them -- all of that brings us joy and comfort. Times may be tough and money may be tight, but at least we can still serve up Uncle Joe’s ribs or Abuela’s Arroz con pollo -- huh? That’s how we show our families that we care about them. Right?
"No matter what culture we come from, no matter what faith we believe in, for so many of us, food is love. Food is sometimes all we have."
But there's a kicker, of course, Mrs. Obama told her audience. Celebrations should go on, but these must be healthy, in order to preserve the future for America's kids.
"We’re going to have to make some changes, some modifications to adapt these traditions to our way of life today," Mrs. Obama said. "And that’s really where all of you come in. That's why today was such an important part of our celebration. Because that is what our faith communities do best--you inspire and empower people to make meaningful changes in their lives."
She lauded congregations and community groups who are leading the way, including Northland.
"It’s no accident that this church hosts classes to help folks lead healthier lives. It’s no accident that, long before we ever started "Let's Move," so many congregations were already sponsoring health ministries and fitness classes, hosting food pantries and summer nutrition programs for our kids."
Mrs. Obama gave a shout out to Muslim community leaders who are "hosting sports tournaments to encourage young people to get active," and The Jewish Community Centers Association's efforts to encourage gardens and create early child wellness programs. The National Baptist Convention is attempting to have "health ambassadors" at all of their nearly 10,000 churches by September, she said.
"And some of their churches have already created “no fry” zones in their congregations."
There's plenty of room for expansion, Mrs. Obama said, which was the main point of her speech: Harnessing the power of the pulpit to create lasting change.
"Let’s not forget that all of this represents the efforts of just a tiny fraction of our faith and community organizations. Just a tiny fraction," Mrs. Obama said. "So just imagine what we could achieve if every single organization and every single congregation in America got involved in this way."
Before she closed, Mrs. Obama announced a video contest for faith and community groups (full details here), and promised the winners a White House visit. The First Lady ended to thunderous applause, and worked the ropeline for about fifteen minutes before departing for a sports event at Walt Disney World Resort. Members of the Northland community were invited to participate.
Mrs. Obama was introduced by Northland's senior pastor, Joel Hunter, who ticked off her impressive resume--Princeton and Harvard Law graduate--but noted that she's most proud of being "Malia and Sasha's mom." He also recalled a meeting with President Obama, in which Hunter praised his leadership and great family, and the President replied, "I don't know how it is in your house," but in the First Family, "I'm just labor."
The Florida focus and Campaign 2012... On Friday, the First Lady acknowledged during an interview with reporters traveling with her that the Let's Move! tour is as much about her husband's re-election push as it is about child health initiatives.
"This is a bit of a two-fer," Mrs. Obama said of the tour. "Because it's an issue that I care about, and it's an issue that's important to the country. ...I want to make sure that what I do enhances him."
The anniversary tour has been one of Mrs. Obama's longest tours as First Lady, and came as Mr. Obama marked the fifth anniversary of first announcing his candidacy for the presidency. Florida, a battleground state for the President's 2012 re-election effort, had four events for the First Lady's tour: A WebMd townhall on Friday afternoon in Homestead; a private dinner with the Halls Family on Friday evening; and the sports event at Walt Disney World Resort, as well as the speech at Northland. Mrs. Obama last visited Florida on January 26th to unveil a Let's Move! commitment from Goya Foods; she also attended two fundraisers. President Obamavisited Disney World in January to unveil his plans to boost tourism. (Above: Mrs. Obama greets the crowd)
Mrs. Obama marked the first anniversary of Let's Move! with a relatively simple day trip to Atlanta, Georgia, where she spoke at North Point Church and visited a school. The 2012 election was much farther away on the event horizon in February of 2011. The two reporters selected by the White House to fly with Mrs. Obama aboard her plane during the tour have typically covered the President, and have in the past expended little ink on Let's Move!: The New York Times' Mark Landler and Wall Street Journal'sCarol Lee.
The First Lady's second birthday tour kicked off on Feb. 9 with an arena event for 14,000 kids in Des Moines, Iowa, which aptly illustrated her power on the campaign trail. She also visited Little Rock, Arkansas, and Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. The First Lady was accompanied on her tour by Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass; her Chief of Staff, Tina Tchen; top Domestic Policy Advisor, Jocelyn Frye; Communications Director, Kristina Schake; and Press Secretary Hannah August, among others. Members of the White House new media team and photographers are capturing the action.
Speaking in Longwood, Florida at Northland, A Church Distributed on Saturday, First Lady Michelle Obama highlighted the second anniversary of the Let’s Move! campaign by announcing the "Communities on the Move Video Challenge." She invited faith-based, community, and other non-profit organizations to enter the contest with "inspiring videos about their efforts to reverse the trend of childhood obesity." The deadline is April 6, and winners will be announced in June. Full details after the jump. "The challenge will recognize community efforts that promote healthy lifestyles for kids by encouraging nutritious eating through USDA’s MyPlate icon, increasing physical activity, and/or ensuring access to healthy, affordable foods," according to the White House. Winners will be invited to visit the White House, Mrs. Obama said, in addition to receiving cash prizes. A full post about Mrs. Obama's visit to Northland IS HERE.
“America’s faith communities play a crucial role in guiding and strengthening not only our spiritual health, but our emotional and physical health as well,” Mrs. Obama said. “Over the past two years, I’ve been inspired by all of the faith leaders and congregations who have taken action to get active and eat healthier, and so we’re launching our Let’s Move! video contest to highlight some of the best examples. I know there’s so much incredible work being done – and I can’t wait to hear some of these stories first-hand at the White House.”
The contest details... Videos should be between one to three minutes long, have a clear connection to Let’s Move!, and describe how the organization entering has worked to improve the wellness of children. The organization may operate at the national or local level. Videos must focus on topics in one or more of three areas of interest: (1) healthy eating, (2) physical activity, and/or (3) access to healthy, affordable food. At some point in the video, the video must direct viewers towww.letsmove.gov for more information. For more guidance about the areas of interest, view the MyPlate Community Toolkit available at the Resources section of www.communities.challenge.gov.
There will be two winning entries selected – a First Prize winner judged by a panel of experts from Let’s Move!, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, and a Popular Choice winner selected through public voting.
Both winners will be invited to Washington, D.C. for a Let’s Move! event where they will have a special opportunity to showcase their video. They each will receive an award of $1000 to defray travel costs. In addition, up to seven Honorable Mention winners will be selected by our same panel of experts and invited to Washington, DC as well. All the winners will have their videos featured on theLet’s Move! website
Administration of the video challenge is provided by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and USDA Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. To learn more about MyPlate, visit www.ChooseMyPlate.gov.
Video preview of March 4th episode...
