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WATCH: Michelle Obama speaks at 2024 Democratic National Convention

Politics Aug 20, 2024 11:41 PM EDT

Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday, a night devoted to bringing “bold vision” to America’s future and a new generation of Democratic leadership.

Obama opened with a tribute to her late mother, expressing that the foundational values instilled within her by her mother are the very same ones that Vice President Kamala Harris’ mother passed on.

“[Harris] is one of the most dignified. A tribute to her mother, to my mother and to your mother, too. The embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country,” Obama said. “Her story is your story. It’s my story. It’s the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life.”

Obama also jabbed at former President Donald Trump for the ways he had targeted President Barack Obama.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. His limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black,” Obama said. “Who’s going to go tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?”

Throughout her speech, Obama urged the audience to take direct action across the next 11 weeks to ensure as many people as possible vote for Harris in the upcoming November election.

“Michelle Obama is asking you, no, I’m telling y’all to do something,” said Obama, inspiring an audience chant of “DO SOMETHING!” in return.

The phrase “do something,” she reminded audiences, comes from Harris’s own mother, an immigrant from India who encouraged Harris to not complain about what was wrong in the world but instead to “do something.”

Live fact check: Night 2 of the Democratic National Convention

“This is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right, to stand up not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity, for basic respect, dignity, and empathy, for the values at the very foundation of this democracy,” Obama said. “It’s up to us to remember what Kamala’s mother told her: ‘Don’t just sit around and complain. Do something.'”

Later in the week, Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will formally accept their nominations as the party’s candidates.