Residents mark historic address
Photo By Tevin Stinson
Citizens thoughtfully listen to President Barack Obama deliver his final State of he Union address at a watch party hosted by the Urban League Young Professionals Organization.
President’s final State of the Union talk focuses on future
By Tevin Stinson
The Chronicle
Americans across the nation were glued to their TVs Tuesday night when President Barack Obama delivered his final State of the Union address. At the local level, The Winston-Salem Urban League’s Young Professionals organization held a watch party to celebrate the historic occasion.
Urban League Chief Executive Officer James Perry said he felt it was important to host the event.
“This is a historic moment,” he said. “We wanted to mark this memorable evening by inviting the community to fellowship while listening to what the president would say in his final address.”
During his hourlong speech, Obama addressed a number of issues, including economic inequality, education, global warming, voting rights and national security, among others. Although his time as president is coming to a close, Obama said he wanted to spend his final months in office working toward a better future.
“I don’t want to just talk about next year,” he said. “I want to focus on the next five years, the next 10 years and beyond. I want to focus on our future.”
The president went on to mention that he will dedicate his remaining time in office fixing a broken immigration system, protecting children from gun violence and raising the minimum wage.
“All these things still matter to hardworking families. They are still the right things to do, and I will not let up until they are done.”
Following the address to the nation, a number of people said the president’s speech was exactly what the people needed to hear.
Sonjy Daniels of Winston-Salem said the speech was very relevant to the times. She also praised the president for addressing issues that were important to the people in the inner cities.
“With this being his last address, I think he handled it with grace and class,” she said.
