The year 2020 will go down in history for a number of reasons — some good and others not so much. When it comes to the monumental protests that took place in the United States after the police officer-involved death of George Floyd, the entire world took notice as Black Americans and their allies unapologetically demanded social justice.

Two people who were very much motivated to also help out with the groundbreaking cause were Former President Barack Obama and Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s two daughters, Sasha and Malia. The two college-aged sisters witnessed the change that was occurring in the country with the Black Lives Matter movement and wanted to assist.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Barack told the news outlet that they helped organize protests, which was complete news to many because this was never made public.

“They had a very clear sense of what was right and what was wrong and [of] their own agency and the power of their voice and the need to participate,” the author of A Promised Land told the entertainment publication. “Malia and Sasha found their own ways to get involved with the demonstrations and activism that you saw with young people this summer, without any prompting from Michelle and myself, on their own initiative.”

When it came to their ideas, Barack added that they asked for advice a little bit. But, for the most part, their plans were 100% their call. “I think a couple of times they asked for sort of very specific suggestions about what would be the best way to communicate X or what would be the most useful thing that, if we were mobilizing a whole bunch of friends, to have an impact, what should we be doing,” Obama said. “But, they didn’t need to be encouraged.”