Nanik Tagore,

Almost 143 long years after the abolishment of slavery, there was a senator from Illinois who became the very first black President of the United States. His name was Barack Obama and he changed history when he was elected. He served 8 years and two terms in The White House, working tirelessly to inspire people in hopes of making a change. While in office, he worked extremely hard to create an affordable health care plan for all. He supported the LGBTQ community and wanted a stronger safer country for all. We were very lucky to have such an amazing man as our president and due to all of his hard work, he deserves to be recognized with a monument in his honor.

One of the reasons why Barack Obama should be remembered is the fact that he was the first African American to ever win a presidential election. Obama being elected proved the U.S was ready for a change. The election of Barack Obama was a signal of hope for families regardless of race. This was a huge step in a positive direction toward change. Obama was a senator before he decided to run for office, and running for office was probably one of the greatest decisions of his life. After the 43 white male presidents before him, he showed America that our president could be someone from a diverse background.  That is what is so unique about him being elected president and this election did not come easy. It may have looked like the Obama family had everything under control, but Michelle Obama stated she dealt with racial slurs, racist comments, and more during her time as the first lady. Michelle Obama was “compared to animals and racial slurs were used against her¨ (guardian.com). Even though Obama made history by becoming the first Black President of the U.S., this change did not come easily.

Barack Obama should be remembered because he made important changes to the U.S health care programs. While he was in office, he strived for improvements and wanted to give help to millions worldwide. One of the main ways he did this was by offering a health care program called “Obama Care” or actually the Affordable Care Act. This program covered 20-30 million with health care while also lowering the cost of healthcare for those who qualify. In short, most of the middle to lower class was offered an affordable plan to help provide health care for themselves and their families. Giving people the opportunities to have basic access to a healthcare program is very important. This program also helped allow kids to stay on their parent's plan ( thebalance.com) until they are 26.  He was thinking of people first, although he wasn't able to give completely free health care, or universal health care, he still reached out to millions of families by helping them with access to healthcare. What this shows is that Barack Obama was willing to put the people before him and fight for them in his efforts of creating an affordable plan. Barack Obama kept true to his promise of trying to bring change and hope to all.

Obama supported basic human rights and really cared about inspiring the youth for a better future. Barack Obama once said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” ( azquotes.com). This is saying that you can't just wait for some other person to do something, you are the person that other people are waiting for, so change is on you. Furthermore, Barack Obama shall be remembered as the first president to openly support the LGBTQ community and stand up for gay marriage being legalized. He said, “Love is love” (theguardian.com) and he also said, “this was a victory for the LGBTQ and their friends and family (stated by theguardian). This is living proof Obama was supportive of everyone no matter the gender, race, ethnicity, or even who people should love. He supported it all and that is why I believe Barack Obama should be remembered with a statue. In short, Barack Obama once again continued making efforts on his promises to inspire hope for Americans and create change.

As a result of all of Barack Obama's tremendous efforts to inspire hope and change in America, our country should remember him with a statue. Being our first African American President of the United States, working to create an affordable health care plan, and supporting the LGBTQ community were three of his major accomplishments.  His family rising above racism and his leadership and inspiration of our nation’s young people make him a president that should be remembered forever and a statue would help future generations to remember him. Barack Obama was a true leader and he did everything in his power to help the citizens of the United States.