The class you wish you never skipped.
On Monday, November 23 thousands of high school students got more than they bargained for when former President Barack Obama dropped into a virtual assembly. Students had been told a special speaker would be attending the online meeting but few expected one of Chicago’s most celebrated individuals would show up. During the meeting, Obama announced that all CPS high schoolers and teachers would be able to access a digital copy of his new memoir “A Promised Land” for free on the CPS’s internal website library.cps.edu.
Building safe, supportive communities for everyone starts in the classroom. Thank you @barackobama for joining @janicejackson and our @CPSCivicLife students and sharing your memories, insights, and encouragement. They will love #APromisedLand! pic.twitter.com/ce7L8iDgQV
— CPS – Chicago Public Schools (@ChiPubSchools) November 23, 2020
An Instagram video posted by Barack Obama himself read “Chicago is the city that shaped us – and that’s why I was excited to drop in to surprise @ChiPubSchools high school students with free digital copies of #APromisedLand.” He also signed off by saying he would check back in with the students in the new year for a virtual book club discussion.
Obama’s new memoir is said to be a deeply personal account of his historic time in office. In its first 24 hours, it sold nearly 890,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada.
[Featured Image from Instagram / @barackobama]