Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Jen Maravegias | Celebrity | June 19, 2026
Almost 10 years after he left office, I think we can all look at Barack Obama without rose colored glasses. But we can acknowledge that he was leading the country in the right direction and was an inspirational speaker. A deliverer of hope. It turns out, he still is. And so is Michelle.
Yesterday was the opening ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side. All of the living former Presidents and their spouses, as well as dignitaries, politicians, and celebrities from around the world we welcomed with speeches from the Obamas, who are still #couplegoals.
While the center itself is not without its controversies, the opening ceremony looked like a beautiful, well-attended event. Unlike events hosted by some other presidents we know. Ahem.
In their speeches, the Obamas did not directly call out the current administration. But the themes of their speeches, and the theme of the Presidential Center's mission are direct rebukes of the cynical and selfish ways Trump and his cronies are legislating. Barack and Michelle would never sully the day by mentioning him directly, but their speech writers are clever and worked in a lot of digs that would either go over 45/47's head or enrage him if he was watching.
In her introduction, Michelle spoke about the choice we have to make to take action and be part of the solution to getting ourselves out of this Trumpian quagmire.
...no one, and I mean no one, has the right to sit in judgment of who's American enough. And that's why folks, we simply don't have the luxury or time to be cynical or complacent, to wring our hands in despair, to wait for someone else to fix the problem. Y'all, hope is all we have because hope is the essential spark that lights the fire of change. But hope is a choice. Whether or not we use our voices to speak up is a choice. Voting is a choice. Being a decent human being is a choice. Believing that we still hold the power to build a country that reflects us all is a choice.
Here's her speech in full. You can skip to the sixth minute to listen to Hillary cackling over her mention of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Barack Obama is still trying to sell us on Hope and Change. To some folks, that message may seem stale and unrealistic. We had hope, and we thought we made change on election night in 2008 (I was there, it was very hopeful!) But it didn't last long. And that's on us as much as it's on the people we've elected to lead us since then. Because politics is a participation sport. Living in society is a participation sport. Too many of us have decided not to participate, deride people for participating, or participate in self-serving ways.
In his speech, Obama calls on us to reject cynicism and to make common cause together.
It's tempting to give in to cynicism and even despair, to stop trying. We start thinking that appeals to democracy and civic participation are corny and old-fashioned and boring and naive. That the very idea of working on behalf of the common good is a sucker's bet and that in order for us to win, somebody else has got to lose. I get it. I am not immune to anger or doubt. But I do know this. When we lose faith in each other, when we stop believing that voting matters, that citizenship matters, that our collective voices matter, that how we treat each other no longer matters, then we give away our power to decide our own futures. We open the door to the most ruthless, or the most careless, or the most fearful among us. Who see some groups and some people as more equal than others, and see government as nothing more than a way to divvy up the spoils and punish enemies, and keep those who are different in their place. I do not believe that is the story of America that prevails in the end.
In reference to the Presidential Center's mission, Obama also spoke, as he so often does, about our responsibilities to engage and be the change we want to see in our country.
For while our work is nonpartisan, we are not value-neutral. We have a point of view. The exhibits in the center are not meant to evoke nostalgia for some gauzy bygone era, some unattainable past that we can dream about and say, "Oh, we miss you, Barack." They're meant to remind us of who we can be, to remind us of what's possible, so we can forge ahead, clear-eyed and confident, and do the work that still needs to be done. We can learn from the past, but America's story isn't frozen in the past. It has chapters yet to be written. Not by one person or a few people, not by Barack and Michelle or anybody with a fancy title or a high office, but by all of us.
The other guy who's really big on corny civic participation is Zohran Mamdani. He's my mayor, but I'm willing to share him with everyone who is on board with his message. It's been a big week for New York City. You might be sick of us. I don't blame you. New York City as an underdog is a hard sell. But it has often actually been the case. Counted out time and time again by politicians and legislators, we have bounced back from recessions, drug wars, the pandemic, and a history of terrible mayors. Electing Mamdani after Eric Adams' administration felt like a magic trick. A trick that was still delivering six months later when the Knicks won the NBA Championship after a 53-year drought.
At yesterday's ticker-tape parade honoring the Knicks, Mamdani gave a short but eloquent speech about the team and New Yorkers in general beating the odds. In the same way Hollywood sports speeches have been seen as metaphors for greater things, Mamdani's speech wasn't just about the Knicks or New Yorkers; it was about all of us. When he quoted Jalen Brunson, he was talking about bigger things than basketball.
...you are allowed to think about the worst possible scenario, but you got to go out there and do something about it.
If we take away one thing from this week of victories snatched from the clutches of defeat and speeches meant to inspire hope, let it be that we have to do the work. If we can get 4 million people on the streets to celebrate, we can start a revolution. Take it from this (very NSFW) drunk guy at the Kicks' parade who made more sense than he probably realized.
Also, here are some cute dogs to get you through the weekend:
