--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was something so empowering about…" description: "\"There was something so empowering about having President Obama in office because I know that for many of us, that's something that we never thought tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/jesmyn-ward-1426_empowering_there-was-something-so-empowering-about_845289.jpg" --- # There was something so empowering about having President… ![“There was something so empowering about having President Obama in office because I know that for many of us, that's something that we never thought that we'd see in our lifetime.” quote by Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/jesmyn-ward-1426_empowering_there-was-something-so-empowering-about_845289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/jesmyn-ward-1426_empowering_there-was-something-so-empowering-about_845289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/jesmyn-ward-1426_empowering_there-was-something-so-empowering-about_845289.jpg) > “There was something so empowering about having President Obama in office because I know that for many of us, that's something that we never thought that we'd see in our lifetime.” [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing a historic milestone like a Black president inspires hope and validates aspirations previously thought unattainable. **In simple terms:** Historic achievements inspire hope. Key Takeaway Recognize and celebrate breakthroughs. Themes representation hope empowerment Mood optimistic proud Type political motivational When to use this quote - community activism - educational motivation - political engagement Key Concepts social change identity politics Questions to Reflect On - What does representation mean to you personally? - How can you turn inspiration into action? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on symbolism may overlook systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empowering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowering/) [Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) ## Related quotes > [I have great respect for both President Obama and the office that he holds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-have-great-respect-for-both-president-obama-and-the-office-that-he/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If they did not want President Obama in office, why are they prepping another black person into office?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-polydor/if-they-did-not-want-president-obama-in-office-why-are-they-prepping/) [Steve Polydor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-polydor/) > [If they did not want President Obama in office, why are they prepping another black man for office?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-polydor/if-they-did-not-want-president-obama-in-office-why-are-they-prepping-2/) [Steve Polydor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-polydor/) > [Now, here we are, and we have Obama in office, and he has drawn down forces in Iraq - which is a plan that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/now-here-we-are-and-we-have-obama-in-office-and-he-has-drawn-down/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [President Obama's office has been really incredible with the mayors. They really pride themselves on their relationships with the mayors, and they've really been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-walsh/president-obama-s-office-has-been-really-incredible-with-the-mayors/) [Marty Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-walsh/) > [I love having a president who I think is smarter than I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-love-having-a-president-who-i-think-is-smarter-than-i-am/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can die a happy man never having been president of the United States of America. But it doesn't mean I won't run,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/i-can-die-a-happy-man-never-having-been-president-of-the-united/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [Having the President of the United States in West Virginia is a tremendous honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/having-the-president-of-the-united-states-in-west-virginia-is-a/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [I look forward to having a president who doesn't grope or objectify women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-torres/i-look-forward-to-having-a-president-who-doesn-t-grope-or-objectify/) [Eve Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-torres/) > [These last few years we've seen an unacceptable abuse of power, having a president whose priority is expanding his own power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-gowdy/these-last-few-years-we-ve-seen-an-unacceptable-abuse-of-power-having/) [Trey Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-gowdy/) > [“Oh, but Barack Obama was no mere man. He was a paragon of intelligence and civilized society. A savior to the world’s depressed. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-j-fleming/oh-but-barack-obama-was-no-mere-man-he-was-a-paragon-of-intelligence/) [Frank J. Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-j-fleming/) > [One of the roles of the Presidency is to lead a political party. Having a President in office is usually a huge advantage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/one-of-the-roles-of-the-presidency-is-to-lead-a-political-party/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [ One of the things that you learn, having been in this \[President's\] office for four years, is the old adage of Abraham Lincoln's. That… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/one-of-the-things-that-you-learn-having-been-in-this-president-s/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I've used the prestige and influence of having been a president of the United States as effectively as possible. And secondly, I've still been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-ve-used-the-prestige-and-influence-of-having-been-a-president-of/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [By having the President's name on buildings, that is a potential terrorist target.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-painter/by-having-the-president-s-name-on-buildings-that-is-a-potential/) [Richard Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-painter/) ## More by Jesmyn Ward > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I think that voodoo as a spiritual tradition has been demonized for so long in popular culture. I wanted to write against that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-think-that-voodoo-as-a-spiritual-tradition-has-been-demonized-for/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [There's so much I love about home, but then there's a lot that I can acknowledge that I dislike about home. And acknowledging that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-s-so-much-i-love-about-home-but-then-there-s-a-lot-that-i-can/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“The dream of her was the glow of a spent fire on a cold night: warm and welcoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-dream-of-her-was-the-glow-of-a-spent-fire-on-a-cold-night-warm/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [The first writer that I think of immediately that I studied with at Michigan is Peter Ho Davies. He was really important to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-first-writer-that-i-think-of-immediately-that-i-studied-with-at/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like so much of what happened in the Delta over the decades since slavery was abolished seems much closer in the Delta,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-feel-like-so-much-of-what-happened-in-the-delta-over-the-decades/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Vines catch my arms, my head; we tear through until we break out into the clearing before the fence, the field, the barn, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/vines-catch-my-arms-my-head-we-tear-through-until-we-break-out-into/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Before all the little mean things she told me gathered and gathered and lodged like grit in a skinned knee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/before-all-the-little-mean-things-she-told-me-gathered-and-gathered/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [People give the South a bad rap. It's often stereotyped as backwards and close-minded and dogmatic, and all of those things have been true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/people-give-the-south-a-bad-rap-it-s-often-stereotyped-as-backwards/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [By the time I wrote my memoir, 'Men We Reaped,' I had been running from writing it for a long time. When the events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-i-wrote-my-memoir-men-we-reaped-i-had-been-running-from/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was a teenager, I was the only black girl at a small, private Episcopal school, where my tuition was paid by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-the-only-black-girl-at-a-small-private/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/she-was-the-murderous-mother-who-cut-us-to-the-bone-but-left-us-alive/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I hope people who read my books feel empathy for us and really see us as complicated people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-hope-people-who-read-my-books-feel-empathy-for-us-and-really-see-us/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was writing my first novel, 'Where the Line Bleeds,' which had young black men as its main characters, I was very invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-writing-my-first-novel-where-the-line-bleeds-which-had/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Lot of folks was in there for stealing food because everybody was poor and starving, and even though White people couldn’t get your work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/lot-of-folks-was-in-there-for-stealing-food-because-everybody-was/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Explore all 242 Jesmyn Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## More Empowering quotes > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [The best way to fight poverty is to empower people through access to quality education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/the-best-way-to-fight-poverty-is-to-empower-people-through-access-to/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“When traversing the vast sea of loneliness, Oneness is the only true safe harbor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hopkins/when-traversing-the-vast-sea-of-loneliness-oneness-is-the-only-true/) [Gary Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hopkins/) > [Do you feel loved by God because you believe he makes much of you, or because you believe he frees you and empowers you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/do-you-feel-loved-by-god-because-you-believe-he-makes-much-of-you-or/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“Unless an old white man can profit from your sexuality, you better hide it, because if it can't be exploited, it will be punished.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-steven/unless-an-old-white-man-can-profit-from-your-sexuality-you-better/) [Laura Steven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-steven/) > [It's empowering to find a workout that builds strength and grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-helen-bowers/it-s-empowering-to-find-a-workout-that-builds-strength-and-grace/) [Mary Helen Bowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-helen-bowers/) > [To blame and accuse other people, is to choose to empower them, to control us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/to-blame-and-accuse-other-people-is-to-choose-to-empower-them-to/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I'm proud of what I've accomplished and that is empowering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-chachki/i-m-proud-of-what-i-ve-accomplished-and-that-is-empowering/) [Violet Chachki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-chachki/) > [I can get ready in 10 minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolina-herrera/i-can-get-ready-in-10-minutes/) [Carolina Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolina-herrera/) > [The best way to help Burma is to empower the people of Burma, to help us have enough self-confidence to obtain what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/the-best-way-to-help-burma-is-to-empower-the-people-of-burma-to-help/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [In my own case, I'm an artist, and I'm really interested in expanding the vocabulary of human action, and basically empowering people through interactivity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golan-levin/in-my-own-case-i-m-an-artist-and-i-m-really-interested-in-expanding/) [Golan Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golan-levin/) > [Yes, it is God who works in you. And, yes, there is work for you to do. Yes, the Spirit empowers you to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/yes-it-is-god-who-works-in-you-and-yes-there-is-work-for-you-to-do/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [The women of today are the thoughts of their mothers and grandmothers, embodied and made alive. They are active, capable, determined and bound to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/the-women-of-today-are-the-thoughts-of-their-mothers-and-grandmothers/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Browse all 1,186 Empowering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was something so empowering about having President Obama in office because I know that for many of us, that's something that we never thought that we'd see in our lifetime.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jesmyn Ward" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-was-something-so-empowering-about-having-president-obama-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Empowering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-was-something-so-empowering-about-having-president-obama-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/jesmyn-ward-1426_empowering_there-was-something-so-empowering-about_845289.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/jesmyn-ward-1426_empowering_there-was-something-so-empowering-about_845289.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/jesmyn-ward-1426_empowering_there-was-something-so-empowering-about_845289.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was something so empowering about having President Obama in office because I know that for many of us…” — Jesmyn Ward", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jesmyn Ward", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There was something so empowering about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-was-something-so-empowering-about-having-president-obama-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-was-something-so-empowering-about-having-president-obama-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```