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The Obama legacy

A series of articles, video and galleries examining the impact of America's 44th president, Barack Obama, and how his legacy may endure

19 January 2017

  • Barack Obama farewell address, Chicago.

    Letters to Obama: farewell to the hope and change president

    Barack Obama promised hope and change on the campaign trail. In the White House he discovered the limits of that message. We asked readers to write farewell letters to the outgoing president. Here is a selection

18 January 2017

  • Barack Obama awards Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 12 January.

    Joe Biden brought laughs, gaffes and authenticity to White House

  • Mona Chalabi drawing

    The legacy of Barack Obama, in seven drawings – video

17 January 2017

  • Obama-Ice-Man-B

    Being a black man in white America: a burden even Obama couldn't escape

    If you want to know what white male privilege looks like, look at the podium on inauguration day. No black man could be elected with Trump’s life story

13 January 2017

  • OBAMA and black lives matter

    Barack Obama's original sin: America's post-racial illusion

    For African Americans, Obama’s presidency has been largely defined by his reluctance to engage with discrimination and a racist criminal justice system

12 January 2017

  • President Barack Obama smiles for a photo-op with Justin Florence, Associate Counsel, in 2014, with Florence’s family including his father, Ronald.

    Meeting the Obamas: 'It helped me become a better citizen of the world'

    We asked you to share your experiences of coming face-to-face with the first family
  • US President Barack Obama meets with formerly incarcerated individuals who have previously received commutations in Washington, DC, on March 30, 2016. From L to R, Serena Nunn, Ramona Brant, Obama and Phillip Emmert.President Barack Obama on Wednesday commuted the sentences of 61 individuals charged mostly with cocaine-related offenses, as he again pressed the case for drug sentencing reforms. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMMNICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

    Gift of freedom: how Obama's clemency drive tackled aftermath of 'war on drugs'

    Ramona Brant is one of 1,324 people serving long terms for relatively minor drug crimes to be freed by the president but his successor is unlikely to follow suit
  • President Obama Meets With Formerly Incarcerated Individuals in Washington, D.C.<br>WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 30: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media after having lunch with formerly incarcerated individuals who have received commutations, including Ramona Brant (L) and Phillip Emmert (R), at Bus Boys and Poets restaurant on March 30, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Obama commuted 61 additional sentences today. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

    Pardoned by Obama: how a first-time offender was granted freedom – video

    Obama has issued a record number of pardons. Ramona Brant, a clemency recipient who was serving a life sentence, describes the gift of a second chance

11 January 2017

  • Barack Obama, Michelle Obama<br>President Barack Obama waves as he is joined by First Lady Michelle Obama after giving his presidential farewell address at McCormick Place in Chicago, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

    President Barack Obama gives farewell speech in Chicago – as it happened

    Obama returns to his home town to give his presidential farewell speech, which will focus on the themes of hope and change that first helped get him elected

10 January 2017

  • Four Founding Fathers<br>Illustration of four of the United States Foundign Fathers, from left, John Adams (1735 - 1826), Robert Morris (1734 - 1806), Alexander Hamilton (1757 - 1804), and Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826), 1774. (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)

    Presidents undoing their predecessor's legacy: an American tradition

    Obama must hand power to a man who has vowed to destroy much of what the president has built. But history shows such efforts are not always easy

8 January 2017

  • President Obama Speaks At End Of The Year Press Conference At White House

    'He'll take a chainsaw to it': is Obama's legacy strong enough to survive Trump?

    Donald Trump has targeted the president’s achievements on healthcare, climate change and more – but strategists say some progress can’t be turned back

6 January 2017

  • michelle obama

    More than 'mom-in-chief': Michelle Obama bows out as dynamic first lady

    Obama’s commitment to children’s health and education remained steadfast in the past eight years as she transformed into an impassioned political figure
  • U.S. first lady Michelle Obama reacts to cheers from graduating students before receiving an honorary doctorate of humane letters from City College of New York in New York<br>U.S. first lady Michelle Obama reacts to cheers from graduating students before receiving an honorary doctorate of humane letters from City College of New York during the College's commencement ceremony in the Harlem section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

    A farewell to Michelle Obama – video

    Michelle Obama brought style and a charming informality to the role of first lady, but she will be best remembered as an inspirational role model for girls, African American children and the young and disadvantaged everywhere
  • michelle obama

    How Michelle Obama expanded the definition of a first lady

    Margo Jefferson
    The rules imposed on her were constricting. So she expanded them and, in the process, won people over without betraying herself

5 January 2017

  • Barack Obama arrives in the White House’s Brady press room to announce gun control reform efforts. The shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school was a defining moment of his presidency.

    Obama's second term: a president faces the limits of his power

    Partisan gridlock and tragedy at Sandy Hook cast a pall on an array of diffuse victories, underscoring Obama’s calm under pressure – and his humanity

4 January 2017

  • Senator Barack Obama holds campaign rally in Manassas, Virginia<br>epa01540359 Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois pauses during his remarks as supporters hold a Yes We Can sign at a rally at Prince William County Fairgrounds, in Manassas, Virginia, 03 November 2008. Virginia. The event was his campaign's final rally before Obama headed to Chicago as America goes to the polls 04 November to elect a new president. EPA/MIKE THEILER

    Obama's first term: high hopes, missed chances and a signature healthcare win

    The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief from 2007 to 2013 recalls years that might have delivered more had the Democrats pushed home their advantage

3 January 2017

  • President Obama’s second term in office comes to a close in January.

    Write a goodbye message to Barack Obama

    As the 44th president’s time in office comes to a close, share your message to Barack Obama
  • Behind the scene inauguration day.<br>epa01611919 In this handout photo made available by the White House on 24 January 2009 shows US President-elect Barack Obama seconds before being introduced before the swearing in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., USA, 20 January 2009. EPA/PETE SOUZA / WHITE HOUSE PHOTO / HO FOR ONE-TIME USE ON CURRENT EDITIONS

    The Obama years: timeline of a presidency

    In a turbulent eight years Barack Obama faced the biggest economic crisis since the 1930s while abroad reaching historic agreements with Iran and Cuba
  • Obama signs Obamacare

    Obama's legacy: the promises, shortcomings and fights to come

    A verdict on the president’s major achievements across eight pivotal years in the White House, from a panel of Guardian US writers
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