CELEBRITY

Grammy U and Michelle Obama Partner up to Help Nurture Future Music Stars

Nathan Congleton // NBC

Michelle Obama is partnering up with the music industry’s powerhouse to give aspiring musicians a helping hand.

It goes without saying that Michelle Obama is a prime example of utilizing large platforms for good, using her following to help uplift causes close to her heart. Now, she has proven her love of music by joining forces with Grammy U for a new initiative called Mentorship Monday.

Grammy U is the educational division of the Recording Academy. It’s a nonprofit organization striving to nurture young musicians by educating them on music history and helping them network with names in the music industry. With Michelle by their side- promoting the partnership through her Reach Higher outlook- they’ll be running a program between June 20th and August 31st.

Every Monday, music professionals will virtually mentor college students and recent grads on how best to pursue music careers. Among the names already announced as mentors are Sam Fischer, Little Big Town, and an array of alumni from the Recording Academy.

The former first lady has been a prominent advocate for racial equality in recent events. Amidst growing calls to uproot discriminatory governance systems, Michelle has been sharing petitions seeking justice for the unjust deaths of Black civilians. She’s been emphasizing the need for evaluating the state of race relations in the U.S, a message she foregrounded in her recent address to the graduates of 2020.

 

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So much has changed so quickly. And if any of you are confused, or scared, or angry—or just plain overwhelmed—I just want you to know that you aren’t alone. I am feeling all of that, too. And I tried to put together some of my thoughts—for the #Classof2020 and everyone out there using their voice to fight for justice right now. ⁣ ⁣ To anyone out there who feels invisible: Please know that your story matters. Your ideas matter. Your experiences matter. Your vision for what our world can and should be matters. Your anger—that matters too. But left on its own, it will only corrode, destroy, and sow chaos—on the inside and out. Dr. King was angry. Sojourner Truth was angry. Lucretia Mott, Cesar Chavez, the folks at Stonewall—they were all angry. But they were also driven by compassion, by principle—by hope. And if you hold strong with the same faith that carried all those giants before you toward real, measurable progress—you will change the course of history.⁣ ⁣ So what does that mean for our time? If you’re spending a lot of time hashtagging and posting right now, that’s useful, especially during a pandemic. But it’s only a beginning. Go further.⁣ Text everybody you know to join you in exercising their constitutional right to protest. Send all your friends a link to register to vote at WhenWeAllVote.org/register. And show up to vote in every election. ⁣ ⁣ This is how you can finish the work that the generations before you started. By staying open and hopeful, even through tough times. Even through discomfort and pain. Channel your feelings into activism and into this democracy that was designed to respond to those who vote.⁣ #Classof2020, and every one of you out there doing the hard work of progress, you all are exactly what we need right now—and for the years and decades to come. I love you all. I believe in you all. This is your time. @reachhigher @youtube

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This new initiative proves that even with our home-bound circumstances, we can still support the causes we care about most. So keep your eyes peeled because this program is sure to produce some future music moguls!