"In our culture, a person's worth is often measured on the basis of wealth and fame. I'll tell you one thing: at the end of the day, it's not money and popularity that make you feel confident. I know a lot of rich and famous people who have totally messed-up lives."

They sound like the words of a father or a friend, rather than those of the former president of the United States of America. On 19 February, Barack Obama met a group of African Americans, answering their questions about the future. "The most respectable people are those who are confident in themselves because they do their job well and take care of those who count on them," he told the young people listening to him, rapt.

The meeting between Obama, basketball star Steph Curry and African Americans

The town hall – as the meeting between a politician and their constituents is known – was organised in Oakland, California, to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of the My Brother's Keeper Alliance. The organisation, founded by Obama following the murder of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin, aims to guarantee equal opportunities for Black people.

Although their situation has improved since the 1960s, it still happens that they find themselves deprived of certain rights. In a survey conducted in 2017 for National Public Radio, more than half of respondents said they had experienced discrimination in the workplace or at the hands of the police. For many African Americans, Barack Obama's election to the presidency of the United States represented a historic event full of meaning and hope.

Read also: Barack Obama's last speech as president

Masculinity according to Obama

Discrimination does not only affect Black people, but also women, migrants and members of the LGBT community. A young man named Alejandro asked the former president how the definition of masculinity could evolve, given that at present it is still too reductive. "The idea that being a man means putting others down instead of lifting them up is an old, outdated notion," he replied. "Being a man means, first and foremost, being human."

In our society we too often feel weak, inferior to others. But it is time to stop. "If you're confident in your sexuality, you don't need eight girls twerking around you. I have one woman by my side and I'm very happy with her," Obama concluded, speaking of Michelle.