It was a Tuesday night in Chicago when President Obama took the stage to address the nation for the last time as president. The Affordable Care Act, job growth, and marriage equality—all of these achievements he accredited to the success of people coming together to build community.
“Change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it,” he said.
At Mobilize, we’ve seen firsthand that anything is possible when passionate people join forces behind one shared goal. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to provide leaders with the tools they need to build successful communities and turn visions into reality.
Here’s a list of our favorite Obama farewell speech quotes that inspire us to build community:
- “The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil, and imagination—and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a greater good.”
- “You were the change. You answered people’s hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.”
- “But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity—the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.”
- “So regardless of the station we occupy; we have to try harder; to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.“
- “It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss. This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it.”
- “You believe in a fair, just, inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, something not to fear but to embrace, and you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward.”
- “I know our work has not only helped so many Americans; it has inspired so many Americans – especially so many young people out there—to believe you can make a difference; to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.”
- “And to all of you out there—every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town and kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change – you are the best supporters and organizers anyone could hope for, and I will forever be grateful. Because, yes, you changed the world.”