Hi there,
Over the past few months, our communities have been shaken, not just by a pandemic that has stolen too many of our loved ones, but by the rumbling of the age-old fault lines that our country was built on—the unequal lines of race and power that are the direct result of decades and centuries of unaddressed prejudice and inequality.
But even as we face all of that, there’s no reason for us to feel hopeless.
In times like these, what gives me hope are the young people who step forward and lead.
And that’s why we’ve put young leaders at the heart of the Obama Foundation’s work.
For the past few years, we’ve worked to build programs that support so many blossoming leaders doing vital work. I hope you take the time to meet some of them—and learn how the Obama Foundation is helping them change their world.
Whether it’s leadership programs that help support young people on their journeys of change, an effort to help girls around the world get the education they deserve, or an initiative to break down barriers for boys and young men of color, our programs seek to empower people to step forward on behalf of—and alongside—their communities.
We’re also working to build the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago, just blocks from where I grew up and where it all began for Barack and me.
My hope for the Obama Presidential Center is that it can be a place where others can learn to lead. It will feature a world-class museum that chronicles our leadership while calling hundreds of thousands of visitors to service. It will be a place to reflect and grow, connect and create; to tap into your own sense of purpose and discover the change you want to make in the world. And it will be a place to honor history while inspiring young people to write chapters of their own.
Our hope is that each of these leaders, whether inspired by the Obama Presidential Center or empowered by our programs, take up the torch that Barack and I wish to pass—a commitment to lead, not for personal benefit, but for their communities and our world.
By accepting that responsibility, they will become part of the global network of changemakers the Obama Foundation is building—and a powerful source of hope for all of us.
Thanks for being a part of our mission,
—Michelle
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