Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Barack Obama is known to the world as a former President, best-selling author, podcast host, television producer and philanthropist. To his daughters, Sasha and Malia, he is just known as Dad. As Father's Day approaches, he reflected on one of the proudest moments he's had as a father.
As the world struggled to deal with the spread of COVID-19, the nation turned his attention toward another pandemic, violence against Black Americans. The successive deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd sparked a nationwide conversation about discrimination and police brutality. In response, millions of Americans took to the streets in protest. Joining the growing movement, Malia and Sasha Obama took to the streets in protest as well just like their father did at their age.
"I didn't have to give them a lot of advice because they had a very clear sense of what was right and what was wrong and [of] their own agency and the power of their voice and the need to participate," the former President said during a recent interview.
"Malia and Sasha found their own ways to get involved with the demonstrations and activism that you saw with young people this summer, without any prompting from Michelle and myself, on their own initiative."
Smiling a bit, Obama admired his daughter's tenacity. As he puts it, they were in "organizer mode" and very clear in their purpose.
"They didn't do it in a way where they were looking for limelight," he explained.
"I could not have been prouder of them."
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.