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Quote by Barack Obama

“My conviction is that those fights need to be fought right now and can be won. And if in fact we have finite political capital, energy, resources, we need to win those fights.”

Quote by Barack Obama

Author

Barack Obama, born on August 4, 1961, served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama's presidency was marked by significant achievements, including the Affordable Care Act and the normalization of relations with Cuba. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. more

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“If we win all those fights, and now let's say the income gap, and the wealth gap, and the education gap have for the most part been closed - let's say hypothetically, , first of all, America as a whole would be a lot richer.”

Ifs Firsts Whole Would Be America Fighting Winning Wealth Income Gaps

Author:Barack Obama

“We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.”

Action Political Culture Language Communication Diversity Social Justice English Language Few Words Words And Actions Language Words Language And Communication Languages Communication

Book:The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784

Source: The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784

“Let's say hypothetically, knowing what we know now about public policy, that we could close the education gap so that it was only a couple percentage points, and we could make sure that hiring barriers and educational barriers had been leveled down, and unemployment among African Americans right now instead of being double was only 10 percent higher than white unemployment - if we got to that point , America as a whole would be a lot richer.”

Ifs Knows Whole Would Be America White Knowing Policy Couple Higher Right Now Percent Down And Educational African American Barriers Gaps Unemployment Percentages Hiring Public Policy

Author:Barack Obama

“I actually believe that some residue of discrimination would lessen, because it's my view that there is a certain percentage of the white population that stereotypes and makes assumptions about African Americans because they don't inject the history of slavery and Jim Crow into current incarceration rates, or crime rates, or poverty rates, or what have you.”

Believe Certain White Views Poverty Crime Slavery Rate Population Currents Discrimination African American Assumption Stereotype Percentages Crow Incarceration Jim Crow Crime Rates

Author:Barack Obama

“It's a generational project just to get America to live up fully to its ideals and to have the kind of society where everybody has a shot, and every kid is getting a good education, and people are getting living wages, and they have decent retirement.”

People Kind Kids America Projects Shots Ideals Decent Retirement Wages Good Education Living Wage

Author:Barack Obama

“If we got there and we looked up and we said, "You know what? Black folks are still doing a little bit worse off than whites, but it's not like it was 20 years ago," then we can have a discussion about how do we get that last little bit. But that's a high-class problem to have.”

Ifs Knows Years Littles Said Stills Problem Lasts Bits Black Class Little Bit Years Ago Folks Discussion High Class

Author:Barack Obama

“To me the question right now is: How do I close that first three-quarters of the achievement gap, education gap, wealth gap? What gives me the best chance to do that? And I'm pretty darn sure that if America is a just society and treating people well right now, irrespective of past wrongs, that I'm going to close a big chunk of that gap. I've seen it.”

People Ifs Giving Firsts Wells Bigs America Past Three Wealth Chance Right Now Achievement Give Me Gaps Quarters Chunks Achievement Gap Past Wrongs

Author:Barack Obama

“I look at some of the kids that I interact with, and they were born with so many disadvantages. And you could start off in your first interaction with them saying, "Unless they get a lot of compensatory help, they're not going to be able to compete; they're just so far behind, and they're wounded and they're hurt."”

Firsts Looks Helping Kids Able Born Hurt Behinds Interaction Wounded Disadvantages

Author:Barack Obama

“I don't want to exaggerate; having as many African American men as we've had in the criminal-justice system, and the amount of time it takes for the damage done by that to wash through our society and our communities, the disadvantages born out of kids being undiagnosed with mental-health problems early, or not getting the kind of exposure to reading and math when they're 4 or 5 or 6 years old, that carries a cost.”

“I know that gaps can be closed. And they can be closed substantially, more than I think we believe.”

Thinking Knows Believe Gaps

Author:Barack Obama