Former President Barack Obama recently appeared on Today’s Glass Half Full podcast, speaking with host Craig Melvin. While the conversation mostly revolved around the newly opened Obama Presidential Center, it took an unexpected turn when Melvin mentioned a letter written to Obama during his time in office.
Melvin and Obama discussed the multimedia display at the Obama Presidential Center, which, among many of Obama’s treasured keepsakes, includes a letter written to him by a 7-year-old named Emily Smith, who had lost her mother to cancer. The little girl explained that one of her mother’s final acts was voting for him.
Understanding what it felt like to lose his mother at a young age, Obama wrote back:
“Emily, Thanks for the wonderful letter. My mom died of cancer too, so I know how you feel. I’m sure your mom and mine are both in heaven, and are both proud of you. I am too! Dream big dreams, Barack Obama.”
Obama’s thoughtful response offered comfort during one of the hardest moments of her childhood, creating a connection neither of them could have predicted would endure for years.
A full-circle moment years in the making
Smith, now 24, had just graduated with a bachelor’s degree and become a registered nurse specializing in mental health when she learned her letter had made its way to the center. She then recorded a heartfelt follow-up video sharing what that meant to her.
“I feel a lot of emotions right now,” said Smith. “Mainly peace and pride knowing that my mother’s legacy continues to live on, not only through myself, but now at the Obama Presidential Center.”
She then thanked Obama for “everything he’s done for this country and that he continues to do,” as well as for reminding her “to dream big dreams.”
The White House tradition that shaped Obama’s presidency
Visibly touched, Obama recalled sending 10 letters like the one he wrote to Smith each day during his eight years in the White House.
“Those letters would come every night, along with a stack of memorandum about war and peace and the economy,” he quipped.
Some of his favorite letters, Obama recalled, were from people who opposed nearly everything he did politically. Even then, they appreciated that he seemed like a good dad. It became a reminder of the true purpose of being a public servant.
“I used to tell my staff, ‘You run elections and get elected. But the endpoint is, are you delivering something to make the lives of folks a little bit better who sent you?’ And those letters reminded me of that,” Obama said.
He continued that the letters reminded him that any decisions he made, whether about Social Security, war, the environment, or anything in between, weren’t abstract. They affected real people “doing amazing things in the face of hardship.”
Why the Obama Presidential Center preserves these stories
Finally, Obama said he hoped Smith’s letter, and others like it found at the Obama Presidential Center, might offer “encouragement” that America can still be “a multiracial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, raucous, noisy democracy.”
