President Obama recommends:

 


Hey Black Independent,


You probably know that President Obama shares his summer reading lists each year, but have you ever wondered why those specific books made the cut?


This year, in addition to his summer reading list, we’re excited to include President Obama’s handwritten notes that will give you a little insight into his recent reads and why he picked them up. Check out President Obama’s notes here!


"See all of President Obama's notes" with photos of a few of the notes on the right


Check out President Obama’s reading list

Next year, you’ll be able to check out President Obama’s favorite books in person when the newest Chicago Public Library branch opens at the Obama Presidential Center!


Learn more about the 19.3-acre campus here; we can’t wait to open our doors to welcome visitors from around the corner and around the world.

Learn more about the Obama Presidential Center

–The Obama Foundation

Trending Political Issues.

Al: won't be easy

Image
Dear Robert, What if there was a magic button that could overturn  Citizens United , get the word “SuperPAC” out of our national vocabulary, and drive shady money out of our political system forever? Wouldn’t you push the heck out of that button? Me, too. But there’s no such button. All we can do is fight as hard as we can to limit the influence of big money -- and one important step we can take is passing the DISCLOSE Act, a bill that would force special interest groups to tell us who’s funding their political activities. There’s no button we can push to make the DISCLOSE Act law. But there is a link you can click:  Click here to join us in calling on Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act now! In the end, what we really need is a constitutional amendment to overturn  Citizens United  once and for all. But that’s an uphill battle. And the DISCLOSE Act would be an important first step up that hill. Requiring that special interest groups reveal where they get thei...
Read more

Chuck: help us amplify Sheldon's 100th call for action

Image
Robert, How many times have you stood up for a single issue you believed in? Would you tell your colleagues about it 10, 20, or even 50 times? Would you make it the one of the central causes of your life's work? Well --  Senator Sheldon Whitehouse just gave his 100th speech on climate change on the floor of the Senate. In recognition of Sheldon's accomplishment, I'm joining with my colleagues, Senators Barbara Boxer, Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Al Franken, and Tammy Baldwin, as well as leading environmental groups, to commend Sheldon and recognize his remarkable dedication to our future and our environment -- but also to call for real, meaningful Senate action on climate change on the occasion of his 100th speech. Join me, my Senate colleagues, and a coalition of environmental groups as we stand with Sheldon today and join his call for the Senate to wake up to climate change and take swift action to curb carbon pollution now. I've watched Sheldon...
Read more

Mikie: We are tied 43 to 43 in New Jersey, I need Black Independents support.

Image
Every single day since he took office in January, it seems like Donald Trump has found new ways to abuse his power and make life harder for our families. He’s illegally withheld funding that New Jerseyans rely on for child care, for health care, and for access to healthy food. He’s deployed the National Guard to American cities in a transparent attempt to instill terror and fear. He signed a devastating spending bill that guts Medicaid access and makes everything from groceries to heating your home less affordable — all to give billionaires a giant tax cut. And honestly, that’s just a fraction of it. As Trump has inflicted all this damage on our country, Republican politicians like Jack Ciattarelli have cheered him on every step of the way. There is seemingly nothing Trump can do — no matter how illegal, reckless, or outright devastating for New Jersey families — that would make Jack Ciattarelli say “enough is enough.” And ,  polls show that Ciattarelli is within a few percentage p...
Read more

Hillary Clinton: 30 years of “women’s rights are human rights”

Image
    Black Independents -- When the UN Fourth World Conference on Women met in Beijing in 1995, I wanted to go. If my husband hadn't been president, I would have wanted to go as myself—a lawyer, an advocate. But I knew that if I went as the First Lady of the United States it would carry a message that would resound around the world: The United States is putting its leadership toward advancing the rights of women. When I was working on the speech, which took many weeks, I was really focused on how to break through. I wanted to push the envelope in the speech to state a simple truth: women and girls inherently have the same rights as men and boys. After I got back from the conference, I did a lot of media. I remember a man from Iran calling in to the Voice of America and asking me: "When you say women's rights are human rights, what can you possibly mean?" He was genuinely confused. I said, "I want you to close your eyes and think about all the rights you have. And ...
Read more

Michael: March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice on April 29

Image
Robert l., The March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice on April 29 is an opportunity for us to show solidarity with each other in the fight for a clean environment and fair economy.  Too often, those seeking to block our progress try to pit jobs against safe workplaces and a clean environment.  We know that’s a false choice.  We know we can have economic prosperity, environmental justice and equity for all people if we take the right actions now to address climate change, reduce income inequality, fight for racial justice, and safeguard the rights of all people. We’re going to the March for Climate, Jobs and Justice to show our support for taking action on climate and creating and sustaining good jobs by doing so.  Join us at the March for Climate, Jobs and Justice.  Union members, environmentalists, people of faith and community leaders will be there to show the solidarity that exists between all of us to have both a strong, fair ...
Read more

Meet our new class of Obama Foundation Leaders!

Image
  Meet the new class of Obama Foundation Leaders!  Representing 70 nations and territories, the 205 changemakers in our Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and United States cohorts share a common drive to confront our world’s toughest challenges. Over the next year, while taking part in the Foundation’s signature Hope to Action curriculum, Leaders will learn from new perspectives and harness their collective power to achieve even more than they ever could on their own. Take a moment to celebrate our Leaders by learning more about them here! As President Obama put it, “Each year, I am struck by the passion, creativity, and determination these young people bring to the table. My hope is that through this program, they’ll build lasting connections, learn from one another, and continue driving the kind of change that shapes a more just, sustainable, and hopeful future.” Get to know the newest Leaders  and stay tuned for more in-depth profiles highlighting their work both during th...
Read more

Katie: We did it

Image
We did it, friend! Over the past nine months, we worked together to build our grassroots campaign from the ground up. Our volunteers pounded the pavement to talk to voters, our staff put in long hours and late nights, and we fought for every last vote. Our grassroots donors chipped in $5 here and $10 there to make sure we had the resources to compete. And your hard work paid off, big time. I'm proud to be Pennsylvania's Democratic nominee to take on -- and beat -- Pat Toomey this November. Pennsylvanians deserve a champion who will fight on behalf of families to make college more affordable, to raise the minimum wage, and to make sure that all Americans have access to affordable health care. Friend, we've got a long, hard road ahead -- but our victory today proves that this grassroots team has what it takes to pull together and win. I'll be calling on you for your support soon enough. But right now, I just want to say thank you. I mean it when I say I couldn't ...
Read more

Huma Abedin: Where meaningful action begins

Image
  Robert,    If you’ve ever left a conference wondering what now? — you’re not alone. That’s why I believe so deeply in the Clinton Global Initiative.   At CGI, the conversations don’t end when the meeting does. They lead to real partnerships, real commitments, and lasting results. It's a space where people from all walks of life come together to share and take action.   If you’re ready to move from intention to impact, I hope you’ll be part of CGI 2025. I’ve seen the power of CGI up close — not just in the headlines, but in the way it brings people together to deliver real solutions. Whether it’s expanding access to health care, advancing gender equity, or mobilizing resources in response to crisis, CGI helps turn shared purpose into measurable progress.   That kind of work doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people show up, bring their full selves, and commit to doing the hard work together.   This September, we’ll come together again in N...
Read more

Team Newsom: Gov Newsom on Colbert

Image
  THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! Governor Newsom has received a lot of feedback on his recent social media posts on Twitter and TikTok. Democrats love it. Fox News cries about it relentlessly. But what they don't get is the irony of it all -- that it is putting a mirror up to the absurdity of Donald Trump. Watch this clip from Colbert last night. Thank you, Team Newsom
Read more

Jeanne: I’ll be straight with you

Image
I’ll be straight with you, robert. The most important race happening in 2020 isn’t the race for president – it’s the race for control of the Senate. The party that wins the Senate will decide the future of health care, voting rights, even the Supreme Court.  And everyone from FiveThirtyEight to Roll Call is now saying that Democrats  cannot regain the Senate majority if we lose in New Hampshire. That’s why Republicans are coming after me in a big way – with GOP groups spending more money to defeat me than all the other in-cycle Democratic senators  combined . Now, after Mitch McConnell’s right-wing group just launched their first round of attack ads against us, we’ve got to raise another $7,000 before midnight tonight to fight back and protect our chance to take back the Senate. But, robert, we just can’t do it without your donation right now. If we lose this race, we  cannot  take back the Senate for Democrats – plain and simple. And we cannot win...
Read more