Barack Obama returned to his hometown Thursday to offer up his solutions for bridging deepening political divides across the U.S., with the former president calling on the next generation of progressive leaders to put out welcoming hands “not only for the woke, but also for the waking.”
In his first major speech since Kamala Harris’ Democratic campaign trail ended in defeat last month to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, Obama said he got “more than a few groans and eye rolls” when he told friends he planned to discuss democracy to a crowd of Chicago supporters.
“And it’s understandable. After all, here in the United States, we’ve just been through a fierce, hard-fought election, and it’s fair to say that it did not turn out as they had hoped,” Obama said at his namesake foundation’s third annual Democracy Forum. “It felt far-fetched, even naive, especially since, as far as they were concerned, the election proved that democracy is pretty far down on people’s priorities.”
But in an often solemn 45-minute keynote address, the 44th president, former Illinois senator and Kenwood resident argued now is the most important time to bolster welcoming democratic values — especially as his own party grapples with a stinging election loss due largely to the defection of working class voters.
“It’s easy to give democracy lip service when it delivers the outcomes we want. It’s when we don’t get what we want, that our commitment to democracy is tested. And at this moment in history, when core democratic principles seem to be continuously under attack, when too many people around the world have become cynical and disengaged — now is precisely the time to ask ourselves tough questions about how we can build our democracies and make them work in meaningful and practical ways for ordinary people.”
For much of his speech, Obama harkened back to his roots teaching law at the University of Chicago while dissecting the concept of pluralism, or the idea that welcoming diverse viewpoints and values leads to a stronger democracy and society.
That was the theme of the day at the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum, which also featured appearances from longtime Obama confidant and foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett, country star Reyna Roberts and actor Ryan Reynolds.
“Pluralism is not about holding hands and singing kumbaya. It is not about abandoning your convictions and folding when things get tough,” Obama told hundreds of supporters at the Marriott Marquis hotel ballroom in the South Loop. “It is about recognizing that in a democracy, power comes from forging alliances and building coalitions, and making room in those coalitions not only for the woke, but also for the waking.”
Obama, who served as a top campaign surrogate for Harris, struck a more conciliatory tone than he did during his last Chicago appearance on the Democratic National Convention stage in August, when he railed against a “whining” Trump and his “weird obsession with crowd sizes.”
A month after Harris’ defeat, Obama advised against doling out political barbs that are simply “easy to tweet.”
“It may feel satisfying in the short term. Unfortunately, it actually reinforces the sense that we are inevitably and immutably divided, and that makes it harder for people to reimagine how they might see themselves and they might see others,” he said.
“In order to build lasting majorities that support justice … we have to be open to framing our issues, our causes, what we believe in, in terms of ‘we’ and not just ‘us and them.’ We have to try to frame issues in ways that at least consider the possibility of a win-win situation rather than a zero-sum situation.”
Obama pointed to pluralism within his own “multiple identities.”
“I am 63-year-old African American man, for example. But I am also a husband. I am a father. I am a Christian who is constantly wrestling with his doubts about organized religion. I’m a writer. I’m a Bears fan, which has not been easy,” he said to laughs.
Without naming Trump, Obama still called for vigilance “when the other side has repeatedly and abundantly made clear they are not interested in playing by the rules.”
“There are going to be times, potentially, when one side tries to stack the deck and lock in a permanent grip on power. … In those circumstances, a line has been crossed, and we have to stand and speak out and organize and mobilize as forcefully as we can.”
Before Obama’s speech, supporters examined a large-scale model of the Obama Presidential Center, which could host the foundation’s forum next year.
The sprawling Jackson Park campus is about two-thirds complete, slated to open next spring, officials said. The 19-acre site will include an eight-story museum, an athletic facility, an auditorium, a fruit and vegetable garden and a Chicago Public Library branch, among other attractions.