Farewell Address

Back to The Power Of Words

President Obama delivers his Farewell Address at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL, January 10, 2017. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Aerial view showing the Chicago Skyway, 1999. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

House of Blessings, Mother Downs, Chicago, IL, 1991. © Camilo José Vergara.

Richard J. Daley at the opening ceremony for the Calumet Skyway, 1958. Richard J. Daley collection, University of Illinois at Chicago Library.

Altgeld Public Library, Chicago, IL, 1980s. Chicago Housing Authority.

Detail, Black Panther mural, Chicago, IL, 1986. © Camilo José Vergara.

Services at McGee Temple, Church of God in Christ, Chicago, IL, 1977. Library of Congress American Folklife Center.

Front page of The Times of Northwest Indiana , April 8, 1988, showing a photograph of task force coordinator Barack Obama listening to the concerns of Ed Jamuska and James Amendola, both of the Hegewisch neighborhood in Chicago.

Barack Obama in the offices of Project Vote, Chicago, IL, 1992. © Mike Tappin.

Barack Obama speaking at an event for the Developing Community Project, Riverdale-Altgeld, Chicago, IL, 1980s. Developing Communities Project Papers, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, Chicago Public Library.

Illinois State Senator Barack Obama meeting with a group of constituents, Chicago, IL, 1990s. Illinois State Senate.

Barack Obama at a ribbon-cutting with Mayor Harold Washington at the Roseland Vocational Training Center, Chicago, IL, 1987. Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Harold Washington Archives and Collection. Photograph by Peter J. Schultz.

Images of light pouring through windows, Unsplash.

Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv Synagogue (formerly, Pilgrim Baptist Church), Chicago, IL, 1990s. Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.

Choir conductor Hortense Love at Monumental Baptist Church, Chicago, IL, 1980s. © Bob Black.

U.S. Steel, South Works, 89th Street gate with chain. Chicago, IL, 1989. Southeast Chicago Historical Society [2022-004-23].

Steel worker with smelter in steel mill, Chicago, IL, 1949. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Photograph by Stanley Kubrick.

Ed Sadlowski talking with steelworkers, Chicago, IL, 1981. Southeast Chicago Historical Society.

Worship at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago, IL, 1980s. ©Bob Black.

Liberty Baptist Church congregation, Chicago, IL, 1995.

Women steelworkers rally to support the Equal Rights Amendment, Chicago, IL, 1980. Southeast Chicago Historical Society [1981-092-1a].

Aerial view of crowd at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington D.C., 1963. Rowland Scherman/National Archives

Protest against Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, North Dakota, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith.

Equal Rights Amendment March, Washington D.C., 1978. Ann E. Zelle/Getty Images.

Protest against Apartheid and U.S. corporate investments in South Africa, New York City, NY, 1977. Bettmann/Getty Images.

Third Annual Lesbian Pride Parade, New York City, NY, 1995. Photo by Evan Agostini/Liaison/Getty Images.

March for immigration rights, Washington D.C., 2006. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images.

Take Back the Night protest march, Boston, MA, 1978. Spencer Grant/Getty Images.

A women's brigade protests the Vietnam War in march led by former Montana congresswoman Jeannette Rankin in Washington, D.C., 1968. AP Photo.

Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Case arrests, Ohio, 1859. Oberlin College Archives.

Frederick Douglass poses with his grandson, Joseph Douglass, holding a violin, ca. 1894. Schlesinger Library, Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

Harriet Tubman, ca. 1885. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

An aerial view of the US naval bombardment of Eniwetok Atoll during the Pacific Campaign of World War Two, Marshall Islands, 1944. US Navy/Getty Images.

Parachutes open overhead as waves of paratroops land in Holland during operations by the 1st Allied Airbourne Army, 1944. National Archives.

U.S. Army troops wade ashore on "Omaha" Beach during the "D-Day" landings, 1944. National Archives.

Exclusion orders poster, San Francisco, 1942. National Archives.

Man drinking at a "Colored" water cooler in a bus terminal, Oklahoma City, OK, 1939. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Farm Security Administration photograph by Russell Lee.

Japanese Americans from San Pedro, CA. being transported to internment camps during World War II, 1942. National Archives.

Peaceful protesters, including John Lewis, clash with police near the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL., 1965. Spider Martin/The Spider Martin Civil Rights Collection.

View of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Monument, Washington D.C., 1922. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Peaceful protester on the march from Selma to Montgomery, AL. 1965. Spider Martin/The Spider Martin Civil Rights Collection.

U.S. National Guard troops and Civil Rights marchers wearing “I AM A MAN” placards, Memphis, TN. 1968. Bettmann/Getty Images.

Disability rights march, Atlanta, GA, 1990. © Tom Olin.

Feminist march, New York City, NY, 1976. Diana Mara Henry Collection, Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, UMass Amherst Libraries. © Diana Mara Henry.

Al Sharpton and civil rights leaders lead a march over the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the police shooting of Amadou Diallo, New York City, NY, 1999. Andrew Lichtenstein/Getty Images.

The immigration building at Ellis Island, New York City, NY, 2006. Getty Images.

Mrs. Claire Chennault signs U.S. citizenship certificate at district court following naturalization ceremonies, Washington D.C., 1950. Bettmann/Getty Images.

Miguel Solorzano celebrates his United States citizenship during a naturalization ceremony, Pomona, CA, 2003. Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

Hassan Mahmoud and his son during a naturalization ceremony, Miami, FL, 1986. Bettmann/Getty Images.

New citizens are sworn in at Faneuil Hall, Boston, MA, 1978. Ted Dully/The Boston Globe via Getty Images.

Woman holds her citizenship certificate following ceremony, Miami, FL, 1999. Robert Nickelsberg/Liaison/Getty Images.

Naturalization ceremony, Faneuil Hall, Boston, MA, 1980. Ulrike Welsch/The Boston Globe via Getty Images.

Alejandrina Hernandez and her husband Pascual wave American flags during a naturalization ceremony, Miami, FL, 1986. Bettmann/Getty Images.

Naturalization ceremony at the Ft. Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs, CO, 2002. Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images.

Naturalization ceremony in Battery Park, New York City, NY, 2004. Richard Levine/Getty Images.

Naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. 2014. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Pedro Pablo Machado and Maria Arias raise their right hands as they are sworn in as new U.S. citizens, Miami, FL, 2001. Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

Naturalization ceremony, New York City, NY, 1998. Andrew Lichtenstein/Getty Images.

World’s largest American flag carried by 260 men of the United Order of Junior Mechanics during parade, Washington D.C., 1932. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

American Indian Movement activist, 1970. Ernst Haas/Getty Images.

American Indian Movement activists during “the Longest Walk,” Washington. D.C., 1978. Wally McNamee/Getty Images.

Disability advocates protest for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990. © Tari Sue Hartman.

First grape strike by the National Farm Workers Association, Delano, CA, 1966.

U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm gives the peace sign to a crowd of protestors as she speaks to veterans on the Washington Mall, Washington, D.C., 1971. New York Times Co./Mike Lien/Getty Images.

Dolores Huerta speaks at a United Farm Workers of America (UFW) rally, California, ca. 1975. Cathy Murphy/Getty Images.

U.S. Representative Patsy Takemoto Mink (Democrat-Hawaii) puts a homemade nameplate on the door of her new office, Washington D.C., 1965. Bettmann/Getty Images.

Brad Lomax and Judy Heumann at a disability rights rally, Washington D.C., 1977. HolLynn D'Lil collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Voters line up to cast their ballots, Decatur, GA, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Voters in voting booths, Las Vegas, NV, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

Three women vote in an election following the passage of the 19th Amendment, San Francisco, CA. ca. 1920.Underwood Archives/Getty Images.

Voters stand in voting booths, New York, 2021. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images.

Line for early voting, Marietta, GA, 2022. Elijah Nouvelage/The Washington Post via Getty Images.

African American voters line up to vote at the Cobb County Courthouse, Marietta, GA, 1946. Bettmann/Getty Images.

Voters cast their ballots on Super Tuesday, Andover, MN, 2024. Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via Getty Images.

Voter fills out voter registration forms, Chicago, 2008. © Bob Black.

Voters casting their ballots on election day, Los Angeles, CA. Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Obama voting in the Senate race, 2004. © David Katz.

Black citizens wait in line to vote for the first time in Alabama after enactment of the Voting Rights Act. Flip Schulke/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images.

American woman votes, ca. 1920. Everett Collection Historical/Alamy Stock Photo.

Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the conflict of 'Bloody Sunday' on March 7, 1965. Selma, AL, 2018. Raymond Boyd/Getty Images.

Demonstrators protest the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, North Dakota, U.S. November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith.

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, and Marian Robinson join former President George W. Bush, former First Lady Laura Bush and Rep. John Lewis for a walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Freedom Summer training, Oxford, OH 1964. Ted Polumbaum/Freedom Forum’s Newseum Collection.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington D.C., 1963. © Leonard Freed/Magnum Photos.

Billie Jean King, Susan B. Anthony, Jr., and Bella Abzug at the International Women's Year conference, Houston, TX, 1977. © Estate of Bettye Lane. Schlesinger Library, Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

Demonstrators protest the police beating of Peter Yew, New York City, 1976. Corky Lee Estate.

The crowd listens to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama make his acceptance speech at Invesco Field, Denver, CO. 2008. Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images.

Young Obama supporter, Las Vegas, NV, 2012. © Scout Tufankjian.

Pat McManaway waits for the arrival of first lady Michelle Obama at a campaign rally, Racine, WI, 2012. Scott Olson/Getty Images.

A young person listens to President Obama’s remarks during a health care rally at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Members of the audience listen as President Barack Obama delivers remarks on higher education and the economy at the University of Texas, Austin, TX, 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

U.S. troops listen to President Barack Obama during his remarks at Bagram Airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan, 2014. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Audience listens as President Barack Obama delivers remarks on health care reform at Arcadia University, Glenside, PA., 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Deli Den servers watch as Senator Obama greets customers, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2008. Damon Winter/The New York Times/Redux.

Women listen as President Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting, Portsmouth, NH, 2009. Darren McCollester/Getty Images.

Cadets listen to President Barack Obama deliver a speech at West Point, N.Y, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Audience during a tele-town hall meeting to discuss the Affordable Care Act. Wheaton, MD, 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Town hall meeting on healthcare reform, Shaker Heights, OH, 2009. J.D. Pooley/Getty Images.

Senator Obama greets delegates before he accepts the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High at the Democratic National Convention, Denver, CO, 2008. Chuck Kennedy/Getty Images.

Obama supporters celebrate his win of the Presidential election, Birmingham, AL, 2008. Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Obama supporter celebrates as Barack Obama accepts his nomination as the Democratic candidate for President, 2008. © Scout Tufankjian.

Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Obama speaks to voters from a makeshift soapbox-style podium during a rally, Davenport, IA, 2008. Photo by Charles Ommanney/Getty Images.

World’s largest American flag displayed at the United States Capitol, Washington D.C., 1929. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington D.C., 1963. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jim and Elise Blair, © Estate of James P. Blair.

Activists participate in the Power Shift '09 rally on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Washington, D.C., 2009. Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Marriage equality supporters protest the Defense of Marriage Act, Washington, D.C., 2013. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Photo.

A volunteer with an animal rescue organization carries a small dog he found abandoned beside a flooded home after Hurricane Harvey, Orange, TX, 2017. Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

NBA Cares Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts, Staten Island, NY, 2012. Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images.

Mayoral Candidate, Richard Hatcher, Gary, IN, 1972. Chicago History Museum, ICHi-189083; Declan Haun, photographer.

Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity help construct a home, Los Angeles, CA. 1996. Iris Schneider/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

Judith Heumann, advocate for disability rights, 1977. Vince Maggiora/San Francisco Chronicle/Polaris Images.

Suffrage envoys from San Francisco greeted in New Jersey on their way to Washington to present a petition to Congress, 1915. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.

Music therapy class at a nursing home, 2015. Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times/Redux.

Italian immigrant family on ferry, Ellis Island, New York City, NY, 1905. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. Carol M. Highsmith collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., 1944. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Group of “contrabands”, Cumberland Landing, VA, 1862. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

William Headley, who escaped from a plantation near Raleigh, NC, ca. 1865. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Statue of Liberty, New York City, NY, 1961. Bettmann/Getty Images.

East and West shaking hands at the laying of the last rail Union Pacific Railroad. Andrew J. Russell. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Homesteaders sit on chairs and crates under a makeshift shelter, holding down a homestead lot in Guthrie, Indian Territory. CA. 1889. National Archives.

Immigrants in English class given by Training Service of the Department of Labor in Ford Motor Co. Factory, Detroit, MI, ca. 1920. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Burow family near Merna, Custer County, NE, 1886. Nebraska State Historical Society.

Polish and Russian passengers ride in the steerage of a ship heading to America from Europe in the early 1900s. Minnesota Historical Society.

Arriving at Ellis Island, New York City, NY, 1920. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Suffragist parade, New York City, NY, 1912. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Connecticut suffragists, ca. 1920. Connecticut Woman's Suffrage Association collection. Connecticut State Library.

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, 1945. Joe Rosenthal/National Archives.

People march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights Marches, 1965. Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty Images

Apollo 11 Moon landing, 1969.

“MILE GREEK” Music by BENJAMIN JOSEPH STAFFORD BEINY; Published by MPATH FIVE INTO (SESAC); Courtesy of APM MUSIC.

“NOTHING BACK HOME ALTERNATE” Music by BENJAMIN JOSEPH STAFFORD BEINY; Published by MPATH FIVE INTO (SESAC); Courtesy of APM MUSIC.