(AP) - Extolling the virtues of Harlem's rich cultural history,
Michelle Obama hosted a luncheon for the spouses of foreign dignitaries
Tuesday in the historic New York City neighborhood she described as
"quintessentially American."
The first lady spoke to about 50
spouses of chiefs of state and heads of government who are attending the
UN General Assembly. The group toured The Studio Museum in Harlem,
which was founded in 1968 by artists and civic and community leaders to
provide space for modern and contemporary black art.
"There's a
reason why I wanted to bring you all to Harlem today," said Obama, who
was wearing a blue and white dress by Carolina Herrera. "And that is
because this community ... is infused with a kind of energy and passion
that is quintessentially American, but that has also touched so many
people around the world."
Obama discussed Harlem's place in the
early 20th century as the heart of black culture in the U.S., pointing
to famous writers and musicians like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
and Louis Armstrong.
"Many of these men and women left the South
just a couple of generations after the end of slavery, and they were
desperate to find a place where they could explore their talents and
express their ideas freely," she said. "This moment in history came to
be known as the Harlem Renaissance."
The first lady also
encouraged the group to share ideas about how they are improving the
lives of girls and women in their own countries.
"Everywhere I go
in the world, I meet so many wonderful young girls - girls with so much
promise, girls eager and desperate to learn, girls who just blossom when
they get that one chance to go to school and to start scratching at the
fulfillment of their potential," Obama said. "And when they get that
chance - when both boys and girls have an equal opportunity to learn -
we all know that's not just good for our children, it's also good for
their families and it's good for their countries as well."
They
dined in the main gallery surrounded by life-sized paintings of
African-American women created by Houston-based artist Robert Pruitt.
Made from crayon and charcoal on butcher paper, the paintings depict
black women in his Texas neighborhood and incorporate elements of
science fiction and hip-hop culture.
The lunch was provided by Red
Rooster, a well-known soul food restaurant in Harlem, and included
shrimp and rice and a salad with cornbread croutons.
The visiting
first ladies from other nations will go home with a gift basket that
includes a jar of honey butter produced from fresh honey from the White
House beehive and lemon verbena grown in the White House herb garden.
They
were serenaded by Broadway star Audra McDonald, whom the first lady
described as a "dear friend," and members of the chamber music class at
LaGuardia Arts High School. There was also a performance by company
members from the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
The group also toured
the museum, which houses about 2,000 works from about 450 artists, the
earliest work from 1804 and the most recent from 2013.
The museum
was founded in a loft farther north in Harlem and moved to its current
space, a former bank, in the 1980s. It currently has three emerging
artists-in-residence of African or Latino descent occupying its studios.
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