Good for Michelle Obama.
When the White House announced last week the first lady would speak at a high-school graduation in Topeka on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, it set off a furor. It wasn’t so much about politics. It was about logistics.
This is because the city had consolidated five separate high-school graduations into one massive event. By necessity, the number of tickets for each graduate was limited.
Folks complained. Some grads were irritated that family members they’d invited would now be unable to attend. Others thought the first lady would become the focus, rather than those getting diplomas. Still others noted it would lengthen the ceremony by hours.
Topeka High senior Taylor Gifford launched an online petition that attracted more than 2,500 signatures, asking the district to forgo its plans for a single huge event so that graduates weren’t forced to choose. Now the district has done so, in a compromise that has Mrs. Obama speaking the day before at the same venue and has each school holding its own graduation.
We note that even Gifford’s petition opened by saying “we are honored to have the first lady speak at commencement.” That’s how it should be any time a president or first lady visits.
The same goes for the subject. Brown v. Board of Ed is a seminal moment in the fight for civil rights, and students would benefit from hearing the perspective of the nation’s first African-American first lady. That’s especially true for Topeka, whose “separate but equal” doctrine for its public schools was the issue in the high court’s decision.
We might not always agree with Mrs. Obama — or her husband. But we’re glad to see the issue resolved in a way that allows the grads both to have their day with their families and hear their first lady speak.