Failing Our Children

We are failing our children. Guns are now the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.

Michelle and I mourn with the students and families of the Covenant School today. pic.twitter.com/8X9qKKzB9d

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 27, 2023

Voting Power

Young people have the power to change the direction of our country by voting in this election. Climate change, reproductive rights, gun safety—all the issues you care about are on the ballot.

Register to vote at https://t.co/d5gaMVbvSL and encourage your friends to do the same. pic.twitter.com/F5nWvo0XIO

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 24, 2022

A simple message from @JoeBiden and me: Vote! pic.twitter.com/vFX0ipujzd

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2022

Doing our civic duty.

Vote early—like us! Vote by mail. Vote in person on Election Day on Tuesday, November 8. Just make sure you vote, then help your friends and family make a plan to vote, too. https://t.co/NKXRGNgJPv pic.twitter.com/1DFUw9OacK

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 20, 2022

Thanks to Peyton and @EliManning for having me on the Manningcast. It’s always good watching the game with a couple other retired guys.

Don’t forget to register to vote at https://t.co/NKXRGNgJPv. pic.twitter.com/bqwHM5dzeE

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 25, 2022

Uvalde

Across the country, parents are putting their children to bed, reading stories, singing lullabies—and in the back of their minds, they’re worried about what might happen tomorrow after they drop their kids off at school, or take them to a grocery store or any other public space.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2022

These are 17 of the 19 children identified by loved ones from Tuesday's tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Officials now say all of the victims were in the same fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary School. INFO: https://t.co/I3DnXNz4MB pic.twitter.com/O91fkOVCGO

— CBS Austin (@cbsaustin) May 25, 2022

Michelle and I grieve with the families in Uvalde, who are experiencing pain no one should have to bear.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2022

We’re also angry for them. Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook—and ten days after Buffalo—our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2022

It’s long past time for action, any kind of action. And it’s another tragedy—a quieter but no less tragic one—for families to wait another day.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2022

May God bless the memory of the victims, and in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2022

Gun Violence Epidemic

The epidemic of gun violence in America has gotten worse during the pandemic. This article points to the ways in which the proliferation of guns magnifies the consequences of bias in policing, and makes reform of police practices that much harder. https://t.co/fbK38QMCkV

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 16, 2021

Presidential Groundbreaking

Thanks @RobinRoberts for chatting all things Obama Presidential Center on @GMA, and helping @BarackObama surprise members of Chicago Women in Trades before we break ground later today! https://t.co/Qw2UZRDzP9

— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) September 28, 2021

We Should. But We Can’t

A once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country. It’s time for leaders everywhere to listen to the American people when they say enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/7MEJ87Is3E

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 23, 2021

Hatred And Violence

Even as we’ve battled the pandemic, we’ve continued to neglect the longer-lasting epidemic of gun violence in America. Although the shooter’s motive is not yet clear, the identity of the victims underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 17, 2021

Yesterday's shootings are another tragic reminder that we have far more work to do to put in place commonsense gun safety laws and root out the pervasive patterns of hatred and violence in our society.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 17, 2021

Michelle and I pray for the victims, their families, everyone grieving these needless and devastating killings—and we urge meaningful action that will save lives.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 17, 2021

As if these things aren't related and based on centuries of sexualized and submissive stereotypes of Asian women. White supremacy is rooted in misogyny and racism. https://t.co/C42KyqTGIP

— Millie Tran (@millie) March 17, 2021

When men frame a murderer's actions in terms of him "having a bad day" I can't help but hear them telling the world that they themselves are one bad day away from murdering women, & demanding empathy & recognition for that fact.

— Amal El-Mohtar (@tithenai) March 17, 2021

He had a really bad day. Women die because men have bad days. https://t.co/E8Wn2qocva

— Tressie McMillan Cottom (@tressiemcphd) March 17, 2021

White supremacist classist patriarchy is dangerous because it insists on dominance. It leads white men to think we all have to pay for their “bad day.”

Because apparently the racist, misogynistic fetishization and abuse of Asian women is just a white dude having a “bad day.”

— brittany packnett cunningham is on extended break. (@MsPackyetti) March 17, 2021

It’s not economic anxiety, diabetes, or sex addiction. It’s racial hatred. Stop playing on my phone.

— Openly Black Studs Twerkel. (@thewayoftheid) March 17, 2021

Keeping It Real

To my colleagues who won't go through the metal detectors:

Have you ever had a job before? If you work at McDonald’s and you don’t wear the uniform, you don’t work that day.

If you won’t abide by the rules of this job, go find another one 👋🏾 https://t.co/rPO2xek1iB

— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 13, 2021

Let It Sink In: 8:46

Black people have been wondering why white people and other non-black people have been riled so much by George Floyd's murder-- and not by videos of other police shootings.

I have a theory.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 17, 2020

America watched black men get shot and killed.

America watched reporters get shot on camera.

Twenty *white* children were shot to death in Sandy Hook.

We went on with our lives. If George Floyd had been shot, I don't know if the disgust and outrage would have been there.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 17, 2020

****

We sanitize our language and imagery around gunshot victims. Not many Americans see the damage bullets do to a body.

There was no way to sanitize the inhumanity of Derek Chauvin using his body to crush the breath out of George Floyd.

8:45 minutes of pure cruelty on display.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 17, 2020

The white officer who shot Rayshard Brooks in the back--- also kicked Brooks as he lay dying on the ground.

There are many white men & women in this country who derive a sadistic pleasure from the destruction of black bodies.

Even while we are dying.

Even after we are dead.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 17, 2020

****

The lynchings of black people were public entertainment.

White folks even made photographs and postcards of lynchings to send to friends.

When it comes to black people dying, America has long treated it as a titillating spectacle.

Being shot isn't as interesting, perhaps.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 17, 2020

Perhaps now, what we finally see is a collective white shame and guilt about these cruelties.

So white people, you guys need to figure this out how to erase the emotional rewards of sadistic pleasure white people have long enjoyed in dominating and destroying black bodies.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 17, 2020

****

In short, what Derek Chauvin and Garret Rolfe did to George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks was barbaric. Primitive.

The cruelty was the point.

Chokehold bans, body cams, and officer training won't fix the minds of the type of men who grin while crushing a person to death.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 17, 2020

I will never forget that George Floyd called out for his late mother in the moments before he died.

And the whole world responded.

We got you, Big Floyd.

— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 18, 2020

June 26th

Jim’s courage and persistence helped change America for the better. And so did every American who marched, organized, stood up, came out—or changed their own heart because they love someone who did. Happy anniversary, everybody. https://t.co/t8ULh2c0P5

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 26, 2020

Just a few moments after 10 am ET on June 26th, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision when they legalized same-sex marriage and struck down same-sex marriage bans across the country.

In that moment, love won. Watch part one of our three part series: pic.twitter.com/2cSxEXO6cs

— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) June 26, 2020

****

In the afternoon of June 26, 2015, @BarackObama traveled to Charleston to eulogize Reverend Pinckney after a racist shooting at Mother Emanuel AME church. President Obama began to speak of grace. Then he sang. Go behind the scenes of this moment in part two of our series. pic.twitter.com/VV0RTrmVzv

— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) June 26, 2020

Barack Obama Says Progress Happens When 'We Stand Up, Speak Out and Demand Change' in Stonewall Day Speech​ https://t.co/GdGMh5oQ71

— People (@people) June 26, 2020

****

This was one of the few times I apologized to @BarackObama for a draft. I had nothing left. And even though he didn’t have to be, he was so cool about it.

Then he dunked on me by crossing out two pages, rewriting them by hand, and hitting E-Flat. https://t.co/AC5KdBTvTZ

— Cody Keenan (@codykeenan) June 26, 2020