To Obama
Page 19
Because I’m also gay, I now feel I am a bonafide American.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Susan Sanders
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Mary Susan—
Thanks for your letter. It’s good hearted people like you that always make me optimistic about this country.
Barack Obama
Dear Mr. President
Two boys that are in our neighborhood said that girls can not change the world. I hope you can give us some advice to change the world, or to help us standup to the two boys.
*Stickers: “Believe in Yourself” and “Girls can change the world”
from,
Delaney, Carrigan and Bree
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 8, 2015
Dear Delaney:
Thanks for writing to me with your friends to let me know what was going on in your neighborhood. Don’t listen to those boys—girls can change the world, and your letter gave me the sense that you are a strong group of young ladies who will always speak up when things don’t seem right.
In the years ahead, remember nothing is beyond your reach as long as you set your sights high and stay involved in issues that matter to you. Know that our Nation is one where everyone can pursue their dreams and that with hard work, you can accomplish anything you can imagine. I’m confident all three of you have bright futures ahead—and if any boys tell you otherwise, let them know their President said they better start recognizing that girls change the world every day.
Your friend,
Barack Obama
Gretchen Elhassani
Wilmington, Delaware
5/1/2015
Dear Sir:
So many things happening in the world, and I feel selfish encased in my own skin, in my own dreams and aspirations. This isn’t a political letter. It isn’t a fan letter. It’s just a letter, maybe a diary, something that I didn’t want to put on the internet, and I didn’t want to say to anyone I know. Maybe I choose you because I know you’ll never read this, but I can put a stamp on it and drop it in the mailbox, and relieve myself of the burden of carrying these feelings around inside.
I am a writer. Not a successful writer, a struggling writer. See there, that was a sentence fragment.
I wrote a screenplay and entered it into a contest and I did not win. So I am sad. That’s it. Thank you for reading.
Gretchen Elhassani
Registered Democrat
Non profit secretary
Mother
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 10, 2015
Ms. Gretchen Elhassani
Wilmington, Delaware
Dear Gretchen:
I am glad you trusted me with your letter, and I want you to know it was read.
I write a lot, too, and it seems we both know the challenges and disappointments it can bring. You shouldn’t be afraid of those, though, and you don’t have to worry about whether or not what you write will be considered good. I hope you’ll keep working at your writing and reaching for your goals—that’s the resolve that pushes America forward.
I appreciate the courage it took to send your note. Don’t give up—have faith in yourself and hold on to the dreams that have brought you this far.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
Adam Apo
Chicago, IL
Mr. President,
As the year nears its close, I realize my list of chores would not be complete without first offering you my humblest gratitude for the great honor and cherished experience you gave to me a few months ago. I am a gay teacher and librarian in a Catholic high school in Chicago; and in early September, I wrote you the first letter I had ever written to a President. I asked that as you meet the Holy Father, Pope Francis, in September, that you keep in mind my fellow gay brothers and sisters and the legal, cultural, and moral equality we continue to fight for in our daily lives. I wrote about hardships and discrimination I have faced as a gay man and as a teacher in a Chicago Catholic high school.
A few days after I sent this letter, I received a call from Max Sgro in your Office of Presidential Correspondence; and I was honored to hear that you had read my letter and that I was invited to the South Lawn for Pope Francis’ arrival ceremony. I cried during the call. The privilege of such an occasion was unmatched in my life. And despite many travel complications, Max worked diligently to see to my arrival. He even went so far as to meet me outside the White House perimeter in the early morning hours of the event to hand me my ticket personally. His hospitality was remarkable, and the experience of a member of the federal government working directly for me during those moments humbled me and breathed new air into my love for my country. Furthermore, that night he led me in a tour of the West Wing. In one of the hallways I saw a photograph of the North Portico illuminated in rainbow colors following the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. This was an emotional moment I will cherish forever. As a boy in Hawaii, I never thought I’d have the strength to embrace my identity, yet there I stood, personally invited to the White House, having walked the halls of the administration that fought to secure my legal right to marry. I was filled with overwhelming pride for my President, my country, and myself.
Unfortunately, I was asked by my school to withhold the news of my letter entirely. This terrific example of how an ordinary citizen, by the written word, can excel his cause to the highest office in the land, and earn the momentary ear of the President of the United States—will never reach the students who need to hear it. It was snuffed because I am gay, and because it was presumed that people in my community are not yet ready to accept that one of their teachers is gay. And while I’ve successfully kept my name off the growing list of gay teachers fired from schools, it does not come without pain. It makes me weary, but I have hope. And I remember the surprise and gratitude I felt when standing in the West Wing and I saw that photograph proudly hung.
Thank you, Mr. President, for all that you do, all that you’ve done, and all that you will do to change our history and arc it toward a greater equality for all.
With highest regards,
Adam Apo
PS: I can’t wait to see your Presidential Library in Chicago! Looking for a librarian?
March 14, 2015
Dear President Obama,
The year was 2000, we had a small apple orchard in Eastern WA, a bright eyed 4 year old came into my house. Her family was picking apples outside and I was going to read to her in my house. She looked around and asked “what do you do with all these rooms.” I told her just my husband and I lived here, but my daughter would come visit and she could have a room. I fell in love with that little 4 year old and have followed her life since that day. Attending her Cincenera and high school graduation and other milestones in her life.
Yesterday she called me sobbing that her dad had been taken away. His crime, he was trying to work. Now please understand I have known this family of 4 plus their extended family since 2000. All I can tell you about them is they came to work from Mexico. Her father said, I came to make a better life for my children. Some have graduated from colleges and hold respectable jobs. Her father’s immigration papers have been a problem. Her mom has always worked and just excitedly told me her “papers” will be finalized by July.
I am aware you have worked so hard with congress to get a bill passed to assist persons living in our country without proper papers, but this has been difficult for congress to complete.
I feel such sadness, like I have lost one of my sons, but the grief this family, mom, sister, brother are feeling is immeasurable. I ask that you could please do anything in your power to assist the people of our country who are
here undocumented who are just looking to make a better life and work become legal citizens.
Most sincerely,
Sheryl Cousineau
Kennewich, WA
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 15, 2015
Mrs. Sheryl Cousineau
Kennewick, Washington
Dear Sheryl:
Thank you for taking the time to write me a letter. This country’s immigration system has been broken for a very long time, and stories like yours underscore the hardships created by this system. It’s clear you care deeply about fixing it.
America is not a nation that kicks out hardworking people who strive to earn a piece of the American dream. We’re a nation that finds a way to welcome them and to harness their talents so we can make the future brighter for everybody—that’s the legacy we need to leave to the next generation.
Again, thank you for writing. In the months ahead, I will keep your letter in mind as I continue to do everything in my power to ensure America remains a place where all of us have the chance to live up to our fullest potential, and where we celebrate the diverse contributions of immigrants across our great Nation.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
November/21/2015
President Barack Obama
I am a Syrian girl. I am 17. I want to start by my life in Syria.
Before the War, my life was perfect. I used to make a small party with my friends every Friday. I lived in Idleb, in a small town is called Taftanaz.
My school was good. I liked my friends and my teachers. I was a little child. That made my life perfect.
When the War started, the Syrian army attacked our town. Its tanks destroyed my school and some of my house. I heard much of the sounds of bombing. Because of that, we crossed into Turkey. We found a house and we rented it. There, a Syrian man established a school for all Syrian children. It was very nice choice. I met a lot of girls from other cities of Syria. I learnt many things. My little sister sufferes from autism, we requested to come here because we could not find choices to go to the Turkesh collages. Fortunnately, your organization accepted our request and we did come. America is nice country. People here respect us. The school is good. Your curreculm is easy. I like it. I want to be a dotctor in the future.
The helpings you give us are good. My language is not full yet, but I’m learning. I don’t have any idea about your universities. I need that in order to forget everything I saw in Syria. I am thankful, I thank you from my heart because everything is nice. My teachers at school here are helpful. They are trying to help me as they can. That makes me better. I edored math. I like the American Pizza and pickle. Very nice food. The most important thing is that I’m free and living in peace with my family.
Best wishes
Heba Hallak
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
May 9, 2016
Heba Hallak
Short Hills, New Jersey
Dear Heba:
Your letter reached my desk, and I wanted to thank you for writing to share your story with me.
I know it must have been difficult to leave your life behind in Syria and make new friends here, but I am glad to hear you are enjoying school—and the pizza—in the United States. Despite all you have been through, I want you to know that America will always be a place where brave young women like you and your sister can come to learn, thrive, and find a sense of belonging.
The optimism and determination of families like yours are what help set our country apart. I trust you’ll keep working hard in school and reaching for your dreams—as long as you do, I’m confident there are no limits to what you can achieve.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
From: Mr. Dane Jorgensen
Submitted: 10/11/2015 12:52 AM EDT
Address: Salt Lake City, Utah
Mr. President, thank you.
In 2008, I couldn’t afford to go to college. I tried to get student loans and was rejected. Later, because of actions taken by you, in 2009, I was eligible for and received a Pell grant and a student loan which allowed me to attend college. With federal student aid I could afford to attend college, and in May of 2015, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Before 2009 I had spent two years trying save enough money to attend school but, the cost of attending was always beyond the reach of my savings. Mr. President, I don’t know you but; when your actions made it possible for me to pursue a college education; it felt like you knew me. It felt as if you knew how desperately I wanted to be able to afford a college education and YOU, Mr. President, decided I deserved a chance. I now earn a good wage working as an accountant at a property management firm. God bless you Mr. Obama. I will always regard you as my President because; you were the President who believed in me.
Your friend,
Dane Jorgensen
CHAPTER 12
Friends of the Mail
And why should the president be the only one reading ten letters a day? What about everyone else in the West Wing? Surely Obama’s advisors and senior staff could benefit from seeing this material. “We’re all kind of obsessed with this idea that this is where government is at,” Yena told me. “This is the juice.” Advancing the mail’s reach would become an overarching OPC mission. Fiona and her team began to see it as their obligation to the letter writers, and their obligation to policy makers, and, if you got them talking about it long enough, their obligation to America: Be a megaphone for these voices. Open all the channels, full blast.
“Basically, I just started spamming people,” Fiona told me. She developed a distribution list, kept adding to it. Letters to the president, dozens of them, just popping into people’s inboxes. Why not? And not just 10LADs but also others from the sample piles. “We send out batches of letters we think are striking,” she said. At first she worried about being an annoyance, but then she got bold. “I hope people read them; that’s why I spam them. But I mean, they don’t have to read them.”
They did. Soon, people started asking why they weren’t on the distribution list. “I remember Valerie Jarrett’s assistant reached out and said that Valerie wanted to be added,” Fiona said. “She had been perceived as so senior that we were not spamming her.” They put her on the list. Soon the people in OPC came to know which people in the West Wing were particularly tuned in to the letters. The OPC staff came to regard these people as special agents, ambassadors, and they had a name for them: Friends of the Mail.
Shailagh, of course, was a Friend of the Mail. She told me that the constant flow of letters into the West Wing was part of the regular morning conversation among senior staff. “We’d receive them by email, and then different people would distribute specific letters that caught their eye. The chief of staff, Denis McDonough, would often distribute letters at our senior staff meetings. Just flagging things that were interesting to him or that he found especially poignant. Everybody had a different definition of what they thought was a great letter. For me, a great letter was one that would make me feel confused about issues and expand my understanding of the implications of what we were doing.”
Dear Mr. President,
I have never had more conflicting emotions about a public figure. I was deeply discouraged when I heard about the ICE raids. But, you…have also fought hard to change the criminal justice system. There are many people in my social network that were unjustly criminalized because of their drug addictions. However, the consequences that drug convictions have on immigrants…remain inhumane under your administration.
…I have been very disappointed in you. I have also never been more proud of a president before you….
Lisa K. Okamoto
South Pasadena, CA
Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s
longest serving senior advisor, became a Friend of the Mail. For her, the letters were a kind of nourishment. “When you’re having a really bad day in Washington, there’s nothing like picking up a letter from a citizen,” she told me. Sometimes she would be so moved by a letter she would pick up the phone and call the person. “I want to just emphasize: Washington is so impersonal,” she said. “Imagine your worst impression of what it would be like and then magnify that. It’s removed. It’s physically removed. You get caught up in the sausage making.” She believed that the administration’s emphasis on continued contact with constituents was a reflection of Obama’s own struggles with that separation. “He did not enjoy the isolation. He spoke about it often. That human interaction—he craved it.
“What I remember is an overarching request that the president gave to us to ensure that we had regular interaction with the American people,” she said. “And it began with what his wife did the day after Inauguration Day, when she opened up the White House to the American people and said, ‘Please, come in. This is your house. This is the people’s house.’ ”
And so picking up the phone and calling a letter writer seemed to her like a perfectly natural thing to do, like checking in with a neighbor. “I’d ask people what motivated them to write, and more times than not, they would say they wrote out of a feeling of frustration or desperation or inspiration, love.”
Love, frustration, desperation—that was the stuff you couldn’t get if you were caught up in the sausage making. The letters were access. The letters were emotion, context, and narrative.