Hope and Change – Revisiting Barack Obama’s Historic Presidency

What does Obama’s message of hope and change mean for race, labour, and justice today?

Join academics from the University of Birmingham for a conversation about the legacy of Barack Obama’s historic presidency and how his campaign message of hope and change resonates with modern-day Birmingham. Over the course of this interactive ‘Town Hall’ style event, we will be inviting attendees to engage with leading academics Professor Daniel McNeil, Dr Sharin McDowall-Emefiele, and Dr Rita Gayle about Obama’s legacy in the first quarter of the 21st Century, and the profound questions this raises about race, justice, history, and power.

The event will be compèred by Elizabeth Zeddie Lawal co-founder of More than a Moment, and an award-winning creative producer, theatre maker, facilitator, and host, with audience response invited both ahead of, and throughout the evening.

This event is part of the 2025 ESRC Festival of Social Science Programme at the University of Birmingham.