Launched by Barack Obama during his presidency in 2014, My Brother’s Keeper is an alliance founded to address persistent opportunity gaps and build “safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color." Now, in 2021, that work continues through the Obama Foundation.
Launched in 2018, the Obama Foundation Scholars Program, at Columbia University and University of Chicago, helps rising public leaders “positively shape the future of their community” through interdisciplinary study and network building.
In 2018, Michelle Obama wrote Becoming, a deeply personal (and bestselling) memoir. It explores her roots in the South Side of Chicago; her experiences with defying expectations; and her time balancing being a mother, a wife, and the first lady in the White House.
In 2018, the Obama Foundation launched the Girls Opportunity Alliance to empower girls all over the world through education — because “when girls get the opportunities they deserve,” the world becomes a better place.
Created by Michelle Obama in 2018, When We All Vote is a nonpartisan voter initiative designed to “increase participation in each and every election by helping to close the race and age gap.”
First launched in Chicago in 2018, the Community Leadership Corps is a program designed to bring young people together to address issues and challenges within their communities. The six-month program includes trainings, mentorships, and funds for community projects.
As the executive producers on the 2020 Netflix film Crip Camp, Barack and Michelle Obama highlighted the stories of civil rights activists fighting for disabled American communities to gain social, political, and economic justice.
Published in 2020, A Promised Land is Obama’s first post-presidential memoir. In it, he aimed to “provide an honest accounting of [his] presidency, the forces we grapple with as a nation, and how we can heal our divisions and make democracy work for everybody.”
Waffles + Mochi, which premiered in 2021, is an adorable Netflix series all about the joys of food. Michelle Obama serves as the show’s executive producer (and as the co-host alongside Waffles and Mochi!).