The Obamas Announce What’s Next For Them

For those of us not willing yet to welcome in the new administration, it’s been a day centered around the goodbyes. All day, Twitter has been getting out their last (sincere) Thanks, Obamas.

As we say goodbye to the Obamas, they’re also saying their goodbyes to us. Yesterday, President Obama wrote a farewell letter to America that I hope you’ve read and cried through. A taste:

And when the arc of progress seems slow, remember: America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We the People.’ ‘We shall overcome.’

Yes, we can.

But the Obamas aren’t disappearing. They’re heading to Palm Springs for one of those regular citizen vacations they must have been hearing so much about. They’re going to take a break and “just be still for a little bit.” But after that, they’ve got plans.

They chose inauguration day (mild thunder-stealing burn) to unveil the new Obama.org. That’s the new home of the Obama Foundation, a “living, working center for citizenship.” The presidential center will be housed on the South Side of Chicago, but will eventually have projects all over the world.

For now, the website is a call for our stories. The center aims to “shape, together, what it means to be a good citizen in the 21st century,” so they want to know what inspires you and what ideas you have.

There are also some beautiful photo galleries (and a couple of playlists) you can spend some time working through. The “Brotherhood” gallery, dedicated to Joe and Barack’s friendship, is, of course, especially fantastic.

(via Obama.org image via screengrab)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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