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Obama: In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union - 3-Part Documentary Feature (2021) - Films & Series - Life Stories

This six-hour documentary series on Barack Obama focuses on the President’s personal story and his vision for America, set against the backdrop of the country’s racial history. It traces his own search for identity and his role shaping a more inclusive American identity that has been under attack since he left office. Through the words of some of the people who knew him best, and through some of his sharpest critics, the film ultimately reveals the fallacy of America as a post-racial society, and confronts the work still needed to achieve a more perfect union as the work of a country, not just one man.

A Screening Guide, six lessons, and 38 full-length interviews completed in the production of the 3-part documentary are available. 

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Photographs

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President Obama's grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, during World War II (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama's grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, during World War II (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, 1963 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, 1963 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, mother, Ann, and half-sister, Maya, Indonesia, 1970 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, mother, Ann, and half-sister, Maya, Indonesia, 1970 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Barack Obama sits with paternal grandmother, Sarah, during his first trip to Kenya, 1988 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Barack Obama sits with paternal grandmother, Sarah, during his first trip to Kenya, 1988 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

State Senator Obama at a campaign event, Lincoln, IL, July 7, 2004 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

State Senator Obama at a campaign event, Lincoln, IL, July 7, 2004 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Senator Obama campaigns in Iowa, August 16, 2007 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Senator Obama campaigns in Iowa, August 16, 2007 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama looks at his Nobel Peace Prize medal, Oslo, Norway, December 10, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama looks at his Nobel Peace Prize medal, Oslo, Norway, December 10, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley at the White House, July 30, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley at the White House, July 30, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama and Vice President Biden congratulate Phil Schiliro, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, on the passage of the health care reform bill, White House, March 21, 2010 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama and Vice President Biden congratulate Phil Schiliro, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, on the passage of the health care reform bill, White House, March 21, 2010 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, at the Inauguration, U.S. Capitol, January 21, 2013 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, at the Inauguration, U.S. Capitol, January 21, 2013 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama with young civil rights leaders, the White House, December 12, 2014 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama with young civil rights leaders, the White House, December 12, 2014 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

The First Family leads marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL, March 7, 2015 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

The First Family leads marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL, March 7, 2015 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama's grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, during World War II (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama's grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, during World War II (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, 1963 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, 1963 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, mother, Ann, and half-sister, Maya, Indonesia, 1970 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

A young Barack Obama with stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, mother, Ann, and half-sister, Maya, Indonesia, 1970 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Barack Obama sits with paternal grandmother, Sarah, during his first trip to Kenya, 1988 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Barack Obama sits with paternal grandmother, Sarah, during his first trip to Kenya, 1988 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

State Senator Obama at a campaign event, Lincoln, IL, July 7, 2004 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

State Senator Obama at a campaign event, Lincoln, IL, July 7, 2004 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Senator Obama campaigns in Iowa, August 16, 2007 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

Senator Obama campaigns in Iowa, August 16, 2007 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama looks at his Nobel Peace Prize medal, Oslo, Norway, December 10, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama looks at his Nobel Peace Prize medal, Oslo, Norway, December 10, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley at the White House, July 30, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley at the White House, July 30, 2009 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama and Vice President Biden congratulate Phil Schiliro, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, on the passage of the health care reform bill, White House, March 21, 2010 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama and Vice President Biden congratulate Phil Schiliro, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, on the passage of the health care reform bill, White House, March 21, 2010 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, at the Inauguration, U.S. Capitol, January 21, 2013 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, at the Inauguration, U.S. Capitol, January 21, 2013 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama with young civil rights leaders, the White House, December 12, 2014 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

President Obama with young civil rights leaders, the White House, December 12, 2014 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

The First Family leads marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL, March 7, 2015 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

The First Family leads marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL, March 7, 2015 (Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential Library)

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