Watch This : President Obama Calls on US to Lead LGBTQ Fight
In an emotional speech that recalled all the high points of his two-term administration, President Barack Obama not only recalled the strides made by the American LGBTQ community during his two terms, but also called on the US to fight for the rights of LGBTQ communities around the world.
The speech, which was delivered in Obama’s hometown of Chicago and lasted for almost an hour, touched on how marriage equality was achieved under his administration, and how the US should not back down now from the gains it’s made with regards to equality.
In the speech, Obama rallied the audience to not “withdraw from global fights – to expand democracy, and human rights, women’s rights, and LGBT rights – no matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem.”
Obama continued on by saying that the government should “uphold laws against discrimination – in hiring, in housing, in education and the criminal justice system. That’s what our Constitution and highest ideals require.”
Obama also called for greater understanding among the American people, saying that for blacks and other minorities, “it means tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face – the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender American, and also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change.”
White privilege was also brought up, with Obama challenging white Americans to acknowledge “that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ‘60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; that when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised.”
Aside from ushering marriage equality, the Obama administration also overturned Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, helped bring down the Defence of Marriage Act, recognized Ellen DeGeneres with a Congressional Medal of Freedom, made the Stonewall Inn a national monument, and led a nation in mourning after the Pulse tragedy.
You can watch the entirety of President Obama’s speech below.
During the Obama presidency the Democrats lost over 1000 local, state, and national seats. They lost control of the US House and Senate, yet still are under the delusion that the politics of division works. Why not just do what is best for America??
President Obama has been the best president for the Republican Party since Jimmy Carter. Will they ever learn??
Nope, I doubt it. After they continue to lose seat after seat in the federal and state races, what do they do??????? Re-Elect Nancy Lugosi Pelosi as House Minority Leader AGAIN. The Republicans have to love it.
Obama should go sit in a corner and shut up he lost we the people rejected his agenda
He is no joke and this world has not seen better, he saved the world.
Amen to what Randy and Doug said.
Obama was a joke and will always be a joke that was pushed on America by those that wanted to destroy the USA.
Right on, Jake
This MIGHT have been an inspirational speech if he’d given it 8 years ago, and worked with all the people he mentioned all this time to actually accomplish something.
But he didn’t do that, he cozied up to wall street, with rich campaign donors, and with countries that imprison or behead gay folk.
He’s denied that our country is willingly welcoming hundreds of thousands of ‘immigrants’ who believe in Sharia law. He’s ignored the murders in Chicago, where black men, gay and straight, are mowed down by the hundreds.
Our incoming President should marshall all of the government’s resources to protect, and expand the rights we all enjoy today; and we should hope the new administration listens to the people more than the last one did.
President Obama had the opportunity to go down in history due to his heritage. With his multiracial heritage, he could have united races. Instead he chose to focus on only one part while turning his back on the other. A major opportunity to move racial equality forward was missed for the US and the world due to the division he created.
I don’t know where you live to say such things….
I bet you voted for Trump!
Did this President and the First Lady show up at the Country Music Awards? No.
Did they show up at the American Music Awards? No.
Did they show up at the Black Music Awards. Yes.
And they were shown repeatedly on camera rockin’ to the music.
Case closed.
were you on drugs when you wrote this?
Haters gonna hate. He helped make me feel safer. Sorry you didn’t get what you wanted. Put your egos aside or perish in your pride
I felt safer under Bush…..just saying…
I feel much safer now but something tells me it will not last now.
I wouldn’t hold my breath my friend!!
Our President is a kind, loving, compassionate realistic real man. I am so Proud of him in so many ways. I hope to see him back very soon…2020!
Are you daft? Presidents can only serve two terms and that’s it.
Funny how he has been the higest rated president in decades, and you people are still salty #WhiteTears
But you want the compulsive lier with a temper tantrum problem, who has chosen several of the worst people to join his cabinet??
Obama might not have been perfect, no president is, but come on guys, do you think Republicans (with the exemption of the Log Cabin Republican) really care about gay rights? They always wanted to deny our rights, marriage and so forth. Also not for women’s rights either. As for immigration, yes there has to be better ways to deal with it, but the way they do it doesn’t work. Forcing American tax payer money to help built that wall is pretty bad, since Trump said Mexico was gonna pay for it, but I can’t they’re not so now we gonna pay for it?
Obama actually deported more illegals than any other president, but unlike Trump he’s not boasting about it on air and saying racist things about it.
Most y’all acting like you’re rich, white straight male… Like you forgot you like the same gender right? Just cause we can marry now doesn’t mean we’re still not treated equal as individuals, especially in the South! My 2 cents lol
We inhabit the world we choose to see. To bad so many people live with such pessimism and negativity. I am thankful and proud of President Obama for his service and wish him well.
Obama was no friend to no one. I am tired of all the crying and complaining. Trump is not a gay hater. He is an honest business man who employes many gay, lez, bi people. He don’t fucking care what you are. If your a good worker, your hired. This jackass we had for 8 years did nothing. Quit crying and have some faith in who America voted for. He will help EVERYONE. Ian a bi man and proud to vote for Trump !! Best kept secret, most gay and bi men voted for him !! (Shhhh)
I’ve never voted for Obama ( or that witch Hillary) and I am extremely pleased to see his sorry ass leaving the White House for good. I’m not sure how Trump will work out and I don’t particularly care for his personality but I’d bet he’s forgotten more about what makes the economic engine run than Obama will ever know. And, no, I will NOT support specifically defending LGBTQXYZ rights overseas to the extent that it would harm the US or cause us to become mired in armed conflict. I’ve had enough of war. Let those foreigners grow a pair and fight their own fight.
A minority of people voted from Trump. Hilary won almost 3 million more votes than Trump. So please don’t tell me Obama made mistakes, but he cleaned up the mess that Bush left him. Did he make mistakes sure. Name one personal scandal he was involved in during the past 8 years. He governed with class and accomplished a lot despite all the racist actions, and disrespect shown to him. IT WAS THE REPUBLICANS WHO PRACTICED THE POLITICS OF DIVISION.
Trump continues to scare me everyday. But Pence scares me more. I voted, but didn’t vote for Hilary or Trump. I can’t believe all the people who have remained silence on all the crap Trump has said and his actions and have given him a pass on everything, Taxes, Hate Speech, LIES the list goes on. If a democrat had done half the stuff Trumps there would be calls for impeachment even before the swearing in.
Please do not mistake that wish for 2020 as having come from me, the one who mentioned the Daily Mail in an earlier comment. I don’t know how the party could have read all comments and used the same identifier I do, if not for mischief. I do bit regard the presidential pretender nor his major opponent as being examples of integrity or trust worthiness. I do not endorse either.
I’m apalled that intellectuals like you guys on here forgot 8 years ago when President Obama was elected. Remember car dealerships were going under. Banks were closing and some were on the brink of closing. Unemployment was high from state to state. Things are ways better now than they were back then. I’m sure a lot of guys on here are doing very good financially because of President Obama. He ceased a war. They killed bin ladin. I remember when this guy was elected. I was so happy and proud to be an American. I was thinking that race relationships have gotten better for a black man to get so many white votes to be elected. I honesty didn’t see it coming neither time…People please don’t trash my President my hero. Swallow your racist freakin pride and give him his due…..
Most of these messages are just living proof how fickle a nation we’ve become;
no one gets a fair shake, BOTH parties manipulate and wage ‘sound byte’ war. Eventually, we become so mired in the political quicksand that a large group makes the 180* to anyone different in the moment.
Watch, we are in for four years of the same old routine: hidden agendas, political backstabbing, and of course the broken promises. Only this time I fear, we have left reasonable strides aside. Our soon-to-be ‘commander in tweet’ lacks the maturity to forego goading, the efficacy to see beyond instant gratification (& financial gain), and the vision to realize that there are consequences far beyond the immediate reactions. Time will prove this strategy damaging, but that will be too late.
The problem with the last twelve years has been too much compromise and not enough ‘change’ as promised. However, I’ve always appreciated the thoughtful informed approach over the gamble big in the moment style. It is sad to see so many of my community of brothers jumping on that same bandwagon and believing for one moment that this latest permutation of a snake-oil salesman is in anyway a saviour … welcome back to the days of “what’s in it for me? & live for TODAY.”
Wake up gentlemen, your almost-VP believes your are all sick and in need of conversion, and he will be the powerful Oz if you just are willing to look beyond that little orange man behind the curtain. Not to worry, in four years we will all be ready to welcome the new, anybody-but-you candidate. GBA
You know humanity is an awkward creature indeed . In daylight we argue , fuss n fight over crumbs , slices and loaves of bread . Race , class n status juss fuel this fight …. all in our heads . Aww wow , thas dayuum funny because at night everybody have sex with everybody they claim they dislike …..as long as ” you ‘ re a different type of the stereo type they so distain ” . In the dark ….ummm good dick , good ass , sweet pussy and perky tits , oh yea of yea honey kisses it’s all the same . Fore in the dark GREAT sex tolerates everything because we ‘ re all the same …..when satisfaction is the name of the game .
Bath House Barry, the first gay president of the United States. I wonder: is he top, versatile or bottom?
I think this is absurd people want things their way all the time
@Justin
Maybe Top …Where are you from? Haiti. How about you? Kenya. Long and slim. Prefers au naturel. Mountain of Maurice.
Advancements in gay rights were made while Mr. Obama was president and I have benefitted from them. Just waiting to see what President Trump is going to do for me.
I wish it to be known that I DID vite for Obama both times he run and would have voted for him again if he could have run for a third term. With that said, I personally don’t care who is president or Vice president. All I care about is what will the person in office do insure that equality is furthered in this country? I have always hated racism and found it to be degrading of both races. I am a very proud Gay man and no matter what the government says it will not change who I am. So many people are concentrated on what the president is or is not that they forget to concentrate on their own selves. America ONLY becomes better when WE THE PEOPLE make it better. No president can change this country unless we the people are willing to let that change happen. Hate is not a good way to make change. Want a better Country? Start loving one another no matter your difference of race,Creed, sexuality,or gender, and you will all see a better Nation. Just the opinion of a black loving white man.
Some people would choose Satan, as long as he’s white, they prefer a classic sociopath over Obama. I once had a very close friend, he said at the ripe-old age of 22-23, that he didn’t want to get old, the Universe was listening, he passed away, at the ripe old age of 32.
Ya’ just gotta, you gotta, be careful of what you wish for. Pandora’s old box, lol, is bitch with consequences… the reward for evil, is just more of the same, and you
re gonna get some on ya’, man, you can’t run from yourself.
As of this date, we conclusively, have a criminal (s) in the white house, in the place of a President.
I hope you people who, probably, hated the fact that there was (half) a Black man running the country, in the white house; are happy with you choice…
Those of us in the military, those of us civilians (whom want to marry) or maybe you’re hiv+ and your life is threatened; more than likely, you are not singing your songs of racism.
“I did not stand for the black-man, because I was not black. I did not stand for the Indigenous (Indian) because I am not, either. I did not stand for the Asian, because I am not an Asian. In our case (gay) I did not stand with him either, because I am not gay. So, when they came for me, there was no one left to stand for me, because, I stood for no one.”
As Randy said, “will they ever learn,” Randy my dear, will you ever learn? I mean, you suck dick, man, you ain’t safe just ’cause your white, lol! how delusional can you be!