Michelle Obama has said that she and President Obama managed to win the US elections because of the bravery shown by 'Little Rock Nine' students in the 1950s.
Addressing 200 young adults at a forum in downtown Johannesburg, she asked young people to follow her example and ignore 'the haters' in society, the Washington Times reported.
The 49-year-old First Lady said that she was standing there as first lady of the United States of America with her husband being the President because of the nine young men and women in Little Rock, Arkansas.
She added that for all these years later, so many of them are still benefitted from the sacrifices made by them.
She also urged the South Africans to take inspirations from former President Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years behind the bars during his struggle against racism.
She said the anti-apartheid efforts that arose with student protests in South Africa 37 years ago had many similarities to the civil-rights struggle in the US.