President Obama and the First Lady Cover Essence Magazine

Time is winding down on President Barack Obama’s presidency and Essence magazine has a special commemorative September cover featuring the president and first lady Michelle Obama.

In the cover story, the couple eloquently reflect on what the past eight years have meant to them.

“I think when it comes to black kids, it means something for them to have spent most of their life seeing the family in the White House look like them,” Michelle Obama said. “It matters. All the future work that Barack talked about, I think over these last few years, we’ve kind of knocked the ceiling of limitation off the roofs of many young kids; imaginations of what’s possible for them. And as a mother, I wouldn’t underestimate how important that is, having that vision that you can really do anything—not because somebody told you, but because you’ve seen and experienced it. I think that will be a lasting impact on our kids.”

President Obama recalled My Brother’s Keeper, a program he launched to empower boys and young men of color, as a notable moment for him.

“For me, things like My Brother’s Keeper,” he said. “That’s something I’m confident we’ll be continuing after we leave.”