The first guy through the glass is always going to be cut. And it didn’t take a doctorate in political science to anticipate the uphill battle Barack Obama would face when he was sworn into office as the first African-American US president circa 2009 – an uphill battle which will be subject to further examination in the upcoming HBO documentary series, Obama: In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union.
Directed by the Emmy-winning Peter Kunhardt – who most notably helmed another HBO documentary, True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight For Equality; John McCain: For Whom The Bell Tolls; Becoming Warren Buffett – the three-part affair is set to chronicle the former Commander-in-Chief’s personal and political journey, while grappling with contemporary conversations about the country’s racial history.
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From his upbringing in Hawaii after being born to a Kansan mother and Kenyan father all the way up to his tenure as the world’s most powerful head of state, issues of racial identity, seeking the approval of a divided America, and everything else in between will be discussed throughout the HBO documentary series by an entire array of figures (in addition to Barack Obama himself):
- Reverend Al Sharpton
- Reverend Jeremiah Wright
- John Lewis
- David Axelrod
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Henry Louis Gates
- Jesse Jackson
- and for some reason, Charlamagne Tha God
HBO’s Obama: In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union will premiere on HBO next month on August 3rd, with the subsequent two episodes airing on consecutive nights before hitting the streaming queue of HBO Max (which probably means you’ll encounter it on Aussie equivalent Binge soon enough).
