Obama: ‘Part of what’s made me so hopeful’ are young activists
Former President Barack Obama said during a virtual town hall on Wednesday that part of what has made him hopeful in the wake of the death of George Floyd and national protests are the young people who are becoming politically active.
Video Transcript
BARACK OBAMA: And part of what's made me so hopeful is the fact that so many young people have been galvanized and activated and motivated and mobilized. Because historically, so much of the progress that we've made in our society has been because of young people. Dr. King was a young man when he got involved. Cesar Chavez was a young man. Malcolm X was a young man.
The leaders of the feminist movement were young people. Leaders of union movements were young people. The leaders of the environmental movement in this country and the movement to make sure that the LGBT community finally had a voice and was represented were young people.
And so when I want-- when sometimes I feel despair, I just see what's happening with young people all across the country and the talent and the voice and the sophistication that they're displaying. And it makes me feel optimistic. It makes me feel as if, you know, this country's going to get better.
Now, I want to speak directly to the young men and women of color in this country who, as [INAUDIBLE] just so eloquently described, have witnessed too much violence and too much death. And too often, some of that violence has come from folks who were supposed to be serving and protecting you.
I want you to know that you matter. I want you to know that your lives matter, that your dreams matter. And when I go home and I look at the faces of my daughters, Sasha and Malia, and I look at my nephews and nieces, I see limitless potential that deserves to flourish and thrive. And you should be able to learn and make mistakes and live a life of joy without having to worry about what's going to happen when you walk to the store or go for a jog or are driving down the street or looking at some birds in a park.
And so I hope that you also feel hopeful, even as you may feel angry, because you have the power to make things better. And you have helped to make the entire country feel as if this is something that's got to change. You've communicated a sense of urgency that is as powerful and as transformative as anything that I've seen in recent years.
