There is hope for the future yet, Michelle Obama urged at the London stop on her highly anticipated Becoming tour at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.

Borrowing from Martin Luther King Jr’s often appropriated phrase, she reminded the audience of nearly 3,000 people that, in reference to the current presidential administration, “change is not a straight line”.

As monumental as her role as first lady as part of America’s first black presidency was, Ms Obama was quick to highlight the naivety of the boundless optimism that came along with her and her family’s arrival at the White House.

“We mistakenly thought that Barack Obama was going to erase hundreds of years of history in eight years – that’s ridiculous to think that that could happen,” the former first lady said. “So we’re putting down marbles, and going backwards doesn’t mean the progress wasn’t real.”

Interviewed by revered author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ms Obama wove through the main themes of her life: education, poverty, racism, miscarriage, the death of her father – which brought her to tears on stage – and the act of “becoming” with the same measured openness as her memoir.

She delved into the significance of optics in her career: how she looked, what impression the world had of her family, and the ways in which to avoid negative press.

But there were other bones of contention too, including how frustrating it was to have been reduced to what she wore by female journalists during her first trips to London:

“All the reports would start with what I was wearing, and we were doing substantive things ... it’s incredibly irritating when actually you’re trying to get some stuff done,” Ms Obama admitted.

There were worries about her hair, whether herself and her family came off as too happy, or “whether there was too much golf, go figure”, she said, in a veiled reference to incumbent Donald Trump.

Yet she was acutely aware of what it meant as “a dark black woman” whose appearance and identity “made the stakes so much higher”, as Ms Ngozi Adichie reminded her, to be as poised and diligent as she was in the public eye.

“If you look over the history of America, the voting rights act is not as old as I am, so we are still overcoming,” Ms Obama said, “My grandparents – their lives were affected by Jim Crow [laws].”

Barack Obama Makes Surprise Appearance at Michelle’s Book Tour

Which is why the former-first lady – a title Ms Obama concedes is quite difficult to navigate if, unlike her, you don’t already have a plan for yourself and future generations in place – is so dedicated to helping those she spent so much time championing during her family’s two terms in the White House: young people, working class communities, and girls especially.

“We’re all laying the foundation for the next generation,” she noted, addressing the 300 schoolchildren in the audience from Lambeth and all over the country.

“You young people here, you do the work not because you think you’re going to get an immediate return right away, you do it for your grandchildren ... that’s how we make progress,” she said, to uproarious applause.

Michelle Obama as the First Lady Show all 11 1 /11 Michelle Obama as the First Lady Michelle Obama as the First Lady NEW YORK - MARCH 9: Michelle Obama, wife of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) addresses the crowd at a fundraising event at the Grand Hyatt March 9, 2007 in New York City. The mass fundraiser of Senator Barack Obama targeted a youthful demographic. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady WASHINGTON - JANUARY 4: U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (2nd L) poses for with his wife Michelle (2nd R), Vice President Dick Cheney (R), daughters (C) Malia and Sasha during the reenactment of a swearing -in ceremony on Capitol Hill January 4, 2005 in Washington, DC. The 109th Congress was sworn in January 4. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 19: Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle arrive at the 36th NAACP Image Awards at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on March 19, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady AMES, IA - FEBRUARY 11: Michelle Obama, wife of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), listens with her daughter Sasha as the Senator addresses a crowd gathered at a campaign rally at Iowa State University February 11, 2007 in Ames, Iowa. Obama is wrapping up a two-day campaign swing through Iowa after announcing February 10, that he would seek the Democratic nomination for President. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady DES MOINES, IA - DECEMBER 08: Michelle Obama (L) and talk show host Oprah Winfrey embrace at a rally for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama December 8, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. Obama and Winfrey are scheduled to make two stops in Iowa before heading off to campaign events in South Carolina and New Hampshire tomorrow. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady CHICAGO - FEBRUARY 05: Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), arrives for a Super Tuesday event at the Hyatt Hotel Feburary 5, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. Polls showed Obama and his rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), in a virtual tie going into Super Tuesday, where primaries and caucuses are held in 24 states. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady US President Barack Obama (L) and his wife Michelle (2nd L) meet with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (2nd R) and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (R) during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London, on April 1, 2009. US President Barack Obama visited Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday while his in London for the G20 summit. Obama and wife Michelle were hosted by the queen for a meeting, the day before the crunch summit on tackling the world economic crisis. AFP PHOTO/John Stillwell/WPA POOL (Photo credit should read JOHN STILLWELL/AFP/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 11: A screen shows the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, as girls participate in a live conversation with her and other school girls around the world, via a video link at the Mulberry School for Girls n OCtober 11, 2016 in London, England. A Global Conversation on Girl's Education was a digital conversation with adolescent girls around the world. The event took place in celebration of International Day of the Girl. Girls in Washington, D.C., Jordan, Peru, Tanzania, and the Mulberry School for Girls in the United Kingdom spoke with one another about the challenges they have faced and potentially overcome in attaining an education. (Kirsty Wigglesworth-WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady Executive Director of Let's Move! and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy at The White House Debra Eschmeyer (L) looks on as First Lady Michelle Obama (C) helps a child harvest sweet potatoes from the White House Kitchen Garden during a harvesting event at the White House in Washington, DC, October 6, 2016. / AFP / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. first lady Michelle Obama dances with students from turn around schools during a talent show at the East Room of the White House May 20, 2014 in Washington, DC. President Obamas Committee on the Arts and the Humanities held the first-ever White House Talent Show featuring performances by major artists and showcase the talents of students from schools participating in the Turnaround Arts program which helps to turn around low-performing schools and increase student achievement through arts education. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Getty Michelle Obama as the First Lady WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 06: First Lady Michelle Obama dances with members of the All Stars from from the television show "So You Can Dance" during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn April 6, 2015 in Washington, DC. President Obama and the first lady hosted thousands of children for the annual White House event dating back to 1876 that features live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling, as well as the Easter egg roll this year. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Getty