Barack Obama is the most eloquent promoter of pluralism in American history, and its most inspiring embodiment: child of a white mother from Kansas and a Black father from Kenya, raised in both Hawaii and Indonesia, an Ivy Leaguer and a south side of Chicago community organizer.

In his public narrative, the former president has long told the story of a nation that makes a virtue of expanding the circle of inclusion, extending the promise of freedom to ever more people, and engaging constructively with opponents.

At the core of his being is the conviction that everybody belongs, that each of us is given unshakable dignity by God, and that America is at its best when we respect each other’s identities, relate positively across our differences, and cooperate on concrete projects to serve the common good.

Last week’s Obama Democracy Forum in Chicago saw the former president return physically to the city that gave rise to his improbable stardom and spiritually to his foundational message of pluralism. Consistent with his longstanding conviction that “we are the ones we have been waiting for,” he did not dominate the stage himself but instead spotlighted leaders from the growing movement for pluralism.

Architects of the field such as Rachel Kleinfeld, Manu Meel, Layla Zaidane, and Mónica Guzmán spoke about how the respect-relate-cooperate pluralism ethos needs to be woven into everything from our political system to our personal relationships; our college campuses to our state legislatures. (I had the opportunity myself to give a mainstage address about why interfaith cooperation is an important part of pluralism.)

When Obama did speak, he played the professor-in-chief, delving into pluralism’s role throughout history, offering a socioeconomic analysis of our current polarization, and affirming key pillars of our nation’s political process — the centrality of the Constitution and the separation of powers.

But the part of Obama’s message that struck me most was about how the decency of our civic life is the surest springboard for making progressive social change.

Read the full article at The Chronicle of Philanthropy.