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Page 10 The Skanner January 18, 2017 News Yes We Did: Obama Rallies All Americans in Farewell Speech By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor “ AP PHOTO/PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS, FILE “Y es, we did!” Those were the words that Barack Hussein Obama ended his farewell speech to Ameri- ca on Tuesday, eight years aft er he won the presidency, campaigning on the slo- gan, “Yes, we can!” For nearly an hour, the nation’s 44th Commander-In-Chief reminded ev- eryone that history will not only show him to be the fi rst — and perhaps only — Black president, but time will reveal just how well a job Obama did aft er in- heriting a nation at war, reeling in debt and cowering in fear every time Home- land Security raised the threat level. Passing the Commander-In-Chief baton to Donald Trump has revealed that a large swath of Americans al- ready miss Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the First Family. “It’s easy to lose sight of that in the blizzard of our minute-to-minute Washington news cycles. But America President Barack Obama speaks during his farewell address Jan. 10 at McCormick Place in Chicago. is a story told not minute to minute, but generation to generation,” Obama told unfi nished.” Obama noted that he fulfi lled his goal of making quality, aff ordable health care not a privilege, but a right. Aft er nearly 100 years of talk, and decades of trying by pres- idents of both parties, that’s exactly what he did, adminis- tration offi cials said. Obama said the hardscrabble streets of cities like Chicago is where change happens. “Aft er eight years as your President, ‘Democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity; the idea that for all our outward diff erences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one’ Make The Skanner part of your daily routine Enjoy an in-depth read on your desktop. Grab a headline on your mobile device. Page through the print edition online. the more nearly 18,000 spectators who crammed into Chicago’s McCor- mick Place Lakeside Cen- ter to see him deliver his farewell address, while tens of millions more watched on television. Obama continued: “We’ve made America a better, stronger place for the generations that will follow. We’ve run our leg in a long relay of progress, knowing that our work will always be “ toric achievements during his two- term tenure, noting that America is safer. He mentioned the dismantling of al Qaeda’s leadership, including the operation that killed Osama bin Lad- en. Obama,also spoke of his support of the historic and sweeping rights and protections for LGBT Americans, and making the country’s immigration sys- tem fairer and safer while also tackling poverty and investing in communities. Expanding voting rights, increasing transparency in government and re- versing electoral gerrymandering that has contributed to increased polariza- tion in Congress, were also among the issues the president tackled in his fare- well address. In speaking of his successor, Obama vowed a peaceful transition. However, he also told Americans not to simply go along with Trump. “Democracy does not require uni- formity. Our founders quarreled and comprised, and expected us to do the same,” Obama said. “But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity; the idea that for all our outward diff erences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.” The president received some of the loudest cheers of the night when he spoke about the racial tensions in the country. “Aft er my election, there was talk of a post-racial America,” he said. “Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. For race remains a po- ‘We’ve made America a better, stronger place for the generations that will follow. We’ve run our leg in a long relay of progress, knowing that our work will always be unfi nished’ I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government,” he said. “It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that ‘We, the People,’ through the instrument of our democ- racy, can form a more perfect union.” The president highlighted some his- tent and oft en divisive force in our so- ciety.” While progress has been made, Obama said, “we’re not where we need to be.” Obama added: “All of us have more work to do. Aft er all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking, White middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fi ghting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw fur- ther into their private enclaves.” For a transcript of the full speech, visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/farewell.