The passing of Dorothy Height
Dorothy Height was known as the “Godmother of American civil rights” and once marched with Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy passed away in 2010 at the age of 98. She had continued to campaign long into her nineties.
The Sandy Hook school massacre
In 2012, twenty children, aged between six and seven years old, and six teachers were shot d3ad by Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook elementary school.
“I can only hope it helps for you to know that you’re not alone in your grief,” shared an emotional Obama in a speech following the attack.
“We have wept with you, we’ve pulled our children tight.”
Inauguration Ceremony
Barack Obama became upset because he made his farewell speech as US president on Tuesday night in Chicago.
It was mention of his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia that made him cry.
“Of all that I’ve done in my life, I’m most proud to be your dad,” he said.
The loss of his grandmother
Barack Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, passed away from canc3r on November 3 2008 in the last day of his campaign for presidency.
He mentioned her during a speech at the University of North Carolina.
“She has gone home,” he said, before telling crowds her loss was “hard to talk about”.
The funeral of Daniel Inouye
Daniel Inouye was a Hawaiian US senator for 49 years, between 1963 and 2012.
After Inouye’s d3ath, Barack Obama’s career had been inspired by the Asian/American politician because he was born in Hawaii.
“The way he commanded the respect of an entire nation, I think it hinted to me what might be possible in my own life,” Obama said in 2012.
The introduction of new g*n laws in the US
Barack Obama shared about the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre as he introduced new g*n laws in America in January 2016: “Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,”
In 2015 he told BBC that his failure to pass “common sense g*n laws” in the US was the significant frustration of his presidency.
The Aretha Franklin moment
When it mentions surprise guests, it doesn’t get much bigger than the queen of soul herself, Aretha Franklin.
Barack and Michelle Obama were guests at a tribute to songwriter Carole King in Washington in 2015 when Aretha performed (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
The video of the moment, televised by CBS, attracted viewed millions of time on YouTube.
