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The first major victory of the modern school choice movement came from a bipartisan effort, when Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Annette Polly Williams introduced legislation in 1990 to create the Milwaukee Parental Choice voucher program. Her bill was eventually signed into law by Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson and found support among civil rights leaders, as well as conservative and libertarian groups.

Unfortunately, three decades later, legislative support for school choice is much less bipartisaneven though its more popular among voters today than its ever been.

A recent Morning Consult poll found that 71% of Americans and 77% of parents of school-aged children support K-12 education savings accounts that allow families to use state education funding to customize their childs education.

Many state leaders have been listening to these voters. Last year, 19 states enacted 32 new or expanded education choice policies, and this year, Arizona expanded its ESA policy to all students. Notably, all of these policies were implemented by Republicans.

>>>Who Will Raise Children? Their Parents or the Bureaucratic Experts?

One might expect the popular support for school choice to have spurred increased political support among both parties, especially since 70% of Republican voters and 76% of Democratic voters express support for ESAs. Yet, with some notable exceptions, elected Democrats overwhelmingly oppose school choice.

Meanwhile, the GOP has firmly embraced the concept to bolster its claim to be the parents party. A recent analysis found that, in the 70 votes taken from 1990 to 2021 on stand-alone school choice legislation, 85% of state House Republicans and 88% of state Senate Republicans voted in favor of the bills. Only 17% of state House Democrats and 24% of state Senate Democrats supported the measures. On 28 occasions, the legislation passed a chamber without a single Democratic vote.

This shouldnt come as a surprise. Although most rank-and-file Democratic voters, especially minorities, support school choice, the teachers unions have outsize sway in Democratic Party politics due to their formidable fundraising and grassroots capabilities. Those who cross the unions by supporting school choice risk facing a well-funded primary opponent.

Thats not to say the GOP has been uniformly supportive. Numerous red states, including Idaho, North Dakota, and Texas, lack any private school choice policies; several others have only small programs. In the last two years, promising ESA bills were defeated in Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and several other red states.

In these red states, where Democrats rarely control the state legislatures, the teachers unions and other anti-school choice groups spend considerable resources to elect anti-school choice Republicans. Thus far, theyve stalled the advance of school choice in several states.

But that appears to be changing. In the Tennessee GOP primaries earlier this month, a Tennessee teachers union threw its support behind 10 Republican candidates. Nine of them lost. In Arizona, all three GOP legislators who had voted against expanding the states ESAs earlier this year lost their primaries. In Iowa , after her signature ESA bill passed the state Senate but failed in the House, Gov. Kim Reynolds backed nine pro-school choice candidates in GOP primaries, including several challengers to anti-school choice incumbents. Eight of the nine won.

Likewise, in GOP primaries in Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Texas, school choice has emerged as a litmus test issue. In the next legislative session, Republican caucuses are poised to be even more supportive of school choice than before.

>>>Now or Never: We Must Seize the School Choice Moment

At the same time, Democrats long-standing political advantage on education is rapidly eroding. Just five years ago, a Gallup survey found that Democrats enjoyed a 19-point advantage. But a recent poll commissioned by the American Federation of Teachers found that voters in seven key battleground states were slightly more likely to say they had greater confidence in Republicans (38%) than Democrats (37%) on education issues. As the GOP burnishes its pro-parent credentials, voters are undergoing a tectonic transformation as to which party they trust on education.

The AFTs own poll provides proof that its preferred policies are political poison. As school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis observed in the Wall Street Journal, respondents were 5 percentage points more likely to blame Democrats than Republicans for politicizing education (and making education too much a part of the culture war); were more dissatisfied than satisfied with the amount of say that parents have in what their children are taught; and expressed significantly more confidence in parent organizations (56%) than teachers unions (44%).

It is a time for choosing. Republicans are choosing to be the parents party, while Democrats are still embracing the unions that have lost the confidence of parents as they become increasingly radical and disconnected from parental concerns.

As voter preferences shift, so can political alliances. If voters reward parent empowerment and punish politicized classrooms, Democrats may find it in their long-term political interest to court parents as well. If so, we could see a new era of bipartisan support for parental choice in education.

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School Choice Reform Ought To Be a Bipartisan Effort - Heritage.org

Have you got into rising social app BeReal as yet?

If so, youre not alone, with the app now reportedly up to 10 million daily active users, rising from just 10,000 a little over a year ago.

The trending app of the moment, BeReal sends out a prompt to all users at a random time each day, which asks people to share a photo of what theyre doing, right there and then, with a 2-minute time limit to post an update.

The app is being touted as the anti-Instagram, with the focus on real, unedited everyday life, as opposed to airbrushed, polished IG lifestyle scenes.

As described by BeReal:

No filters. No followers. Just friends, sharing with each other. On BeReal, you discover your friends' real lives and get closer to them.

That approach is clearly resonating, so much so that other apps are now looking to replicate its core tools, with Instagram currently working on a new Candid feature which looks very similar to the BeReal UI.

Its interesting to note the growth of the app, and the popularity of its real life approach, which shows that people may well have had enough of unrealistic depictions of peoples chosen persona and image online.

Which is a key point of note when youre looking at peoples social media accounts, youre essentially viewing a highlight reel of their life, which excludes the lows and negatives, and accentuates what that person wants you to see. That can lead to negative self-evaluation, and subsequent mental health impacts. But with the most popular celebrities sharing overly airbrushed, hyper-real images of themselves online, that then leads to new trends in representation, and showcasing your ideal image.

You can see, then, why BeReal is gaining traction, with these immediate, everyday images providing a more relatable representation of real life, which can actually help to build community and connection, as opposed to followings online.

But are there brand and marketing opportunities in the app?

Some brands are experimenting with BeReal, like Chipotle, which has been using the app to share exclusive promotional codes.

As explained by Fast Company:

When Chipotle joined BeReal in April (one of the first major brands to do so), it shared reusable promo codes in its posts for a week. The first 100 people to use the promo would receive a free entree. Those codes were regularly redeemed in less than a minute.

That, of course, could be novelty value, but its an interesting use of the format to entice engagement, which could point to possible marketing approaches via creative use cases.

Maybe, users will be open to such, if they dont intrude too much on the user experience, and it could be a good way to enhance connection and community.

Other brands are using the app to provide behind-the-scenes content, and insights into how they go about their business, while some are also testing out variable approaches to product previews and offers, based on BeReals limited time window approach.

There are no doubt creative considerations here - and at 10 million users, and growing, you can bet that more brands are paying attention, and are considering what they might be able to do to lean into this steadily growing shift.

Its worth noting that BeReal doesnt allowformal advertising at this stage, but that could also be on the cards in future, as the app continues to scale and looks to build a more sustainable business model.

But then again, a larger concern is that BeReals core appeal is very limited, and that it could easily be replicated by other apps.

Again, Instagram is already doing this, and you can expect other apps to follow suit, as they work to dilute competitor differentiation, and stop their users from downloading another app.

That approach, whether you like it or not, has proven effective, and as BeReal becomes more of a competitor for attention, more apps are going to try and use their scale to blunt the platform before it gets too big.

It remains to be seen whether BeReal can become a truly significant competitor in the space, but 10 million users is significant, and its worth, at the least, considering how it might fit into a more creative marketing approach, as an experiment moving forward.

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BeReal Rises to 10 Million Daily Active Users - Social Media Today

Mamon Powers, Jr. always envisioned being in business because thats how he grew up, being surrounded by businessmen in the home and the community. But then again by the time he was 15, he was running his own carpentry crew on construction sites.

He always had this can do anything attitude and its something that hes trying to do with his Powers & Sons Construction company. As one fifth of the Lakeside Alliance, the collective managing the construction of the Obama Presidential Center, he wants people of color to realize their potential. Wednesday, the Obama Foundation released its annual workforce report citing the organization is on track to meet its workforce and diversity goals for construction with 52% of contracts already awarded to diverse vendors, with 32% of the workforce coming from the South and West Sides of the city. The City of Chicago requires developers to award 32% of contracts to minority and women-owned businesses, while ensuring 50% of the workforce resides in the City of Chicago, but they do not distinguish between what neighborhoods the workforce will come from within city limits. The Obama Foundation is making major inroads on their diversity hiring ambitions.

Everythings going according to plan, said Michael Strautmanis, Executive Vice President of Civic Engagement at the Obama Foundation. Im not taking my foot off the gas. We have to push because the goal is not to meet our numbers, the goal is to build wealth, and to create a new model for taking people into these good construction careers in a community that has been under invested in for generations. That goal will be complete beyond my lifetime. The numbers are good for accountability purposes ... good for people to understand what were trying to get done. But, Im not here for the numbers. Im here for impact and transformation.

Mamon Powers, Jr., Powers & Sons CEO and Chairman of the Board, in his Gary, Indiana office on Aug. 9, 2022. (Andy Lavalley/for the Chicago Tribune)

Currently, Powers & Sons Construction is one of four Black-owned construction groups managing the construction of the Obama Presidential Center, which broke ground last September and is set to open its doors in 2025. The collective called the Lakeside Alliance is made up of Turner Construction Co., Powers & Sons Construction Co., UJAMAA Construction, Brown & Momen and Safeway Construction Co. Kelly Powers Baria, vice president at Powers & Sons Construction and Mamon Powers, Jr.s daughter recalled that Barack Obama was still president when her father came up with the plan to solidify the odds of Black contractors and Black people building Obamas Center.

Usually what happens is a major (construction) project comes along in the Chicago area, the white contractor goes out to get the job, and he tries bring some Black people along with him in some kind of, in my opinion, inferior role, so they can say they got Black participation, but the white man is in charge, Powers, Jr. said. I thought that its time we change that. I thought we Black people should be in charge. We can build anything. Well select the white partner, most compatible with us, that believes in our vision, our mission, and our goals, to work with us. That way we would have the right team rather than somebody picking us, we wanted to pick somebody. So we put the Presidents Alliance together.

Powers Baria said breaking up the larger construction bids into multiple smaller contracts to ensure smaller and diverse businesses can compete for bids is helping Lakeside Alliance meet its goals. She said the team is responsible for making sure each vendor has regular check-ins to ensure vendors deliver their contracts successfully.

Were doing everything we can to support them and make sure that the job is a success. Thats how were doing it, she said. The Lakeside Alliance, our mission and vision that we set was to use the construction of the Obama Presidential Center to bring about sustainable and transformative change in our industry. And the only way to get what youve never had is being intentional, intentional about offering opportunities in ways that havent been offered before. Thats whats most important. Weve been working together for five years now. We have to remind ourselves not to lose focus. Its how you go about building the building and who gets opportunities and benefits from it.

Sharika Harris, 32, is one person benefiting from working on the Obama Presidential Center. Shes a plumbing apprentice with four years in the trades already. Her company is helping set up the centers garage. Shes been working with the nonprofit Chicago Women in Trades to help her prepare for her journeymens test. The North Lawndale resident said she went looking for a career in the trades after custodial work became boring. Now, when the mom tells people shes working on the center, folks get excited.

Its been really cool, she said. I like working in that diverse setting because ... Ive never worked in a setting like that. Its not my first big project but Ive never seen as many people that look like me on the job site. So that makes it more comfortable to work.

Lakeside Alliance Assistant Superintendent Ashful Williams stands on-site as construction continues on the Obama Presidential Center on Aug. 22, 2022 in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

In 2021, the Obama Foundation committed $850,000 to a partnership with local workforce development organizations, including Hire 360, Chicago Women In Trades, IBEW-NECA Technical Institute, Revolution Workshop, and St. Pauls Community Development Ministries, to train 400 new apprentices from the south and west sides. The Foundation is using the model to recruit and train the workforce that will build the presidential center, and to create more opportunities in construction for those same residents to work on projects across the city. According to the workforce report 158 candidates have already been placed in jobs around the city.

Sharon Latson-Flemister, Chicago Women in Trades director of marketing and communications and program director of We Can Build It, the group of local workforce development organizations, said her group is sending out apprentices and journeywomen to share their stories in the trades to recruit more female workers, that includes going into high schools to talk to students before graduation. (Powers Baria mentioned hosting a summer event where site workers helped student put together picnic tables that will be used at the center, a hands-on opportunity and exposure to the trades.) Free trades classes run anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks. The classes prepare one to test and get into apprenticeship programs, which can run anywhere from two to five years, Latson-Flemister said.

During that apprenticeship training, remember youre earning while youre learning, and each year your pay is going up as you learn your craft until you complete your apprenticeship program, she said.

The Obama Foundations partners have a barrier reduction fund to pay expenses like apprenticeship fees, late union dues and tools for potential workers. Groups like Chicago Women in Trades also provide supportive services like mental health workshops to eliminate more barriers for community residents to get into these types of careers.

That was a commitment from the Obama Presidential Center, Latson-Flemister said. That we would assertively work with our community residents to make sure that were not just getting them on that site, which is absolutely wonderful, but were actually helping them to build a career in the trades because once this historic, incredible building is built, theyve got to go out there and still work.

C-Strategies Communications Associate Elena Wallace tours the Obama Presidential Center construction site with Lakeside Alliance Assistant Superintendent Ashful Williams on Aug. 22, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Powers Baria said Lakeside has a six-member team of folks working on diversity, equity and inclusion; she is co-leader. She said its someones responsibility to make sure when a contractor is getting ready to leave the site, they will have another job opportunity to walk into and those entering the presidential center will stay on track as the project goes on.

Its not, going to happen without intense focus, she said.

Folks in the community are, I think rightfully skeptical of large construction projects, Strautmanis said. But what I want people to do is not just continue a narrative, because that is the way the narrative has been in the past. One of the things that concerned me is that theres a narrative out there: You know that this aint for us. That narrative keeps people from showing up ... now its 2022, were rolling. Contracts are out. And if you were on the sidelines then for some reason, were doing our own community a disservice. I want people to check our work, check our progress, talk to people who are working there to see whats really going on. But approach this with a level of hope that will make people say, you know, maybe this time will be different.

Different is what the 74-year-old CEO and chairman of the board of Powers & Sons Construction has been about his entire career. By the time Powers was a preteen, he was working for his father, Mamon Powers, Sr. a man who was building homes and churches in Mississippi in 30s and 40s for his father. Juniors income went from 50 cents a week to 50 cents a day sweeping for him and all the carpenters. By 13, Powers learned how to drive nails with a hammer. It was around this time, that Powers, Sr. showed junior how to lay out the foundation of a garage. His fathers instructions on measuring and square corners revealed the Pythagorean theorem.

I learned that in the 8th grade, he said. That was when construction really got interesting to me because I could relate it to school and relate it to whats going on in the field. In the summers, I worked with other young men who worked with their fathers clearing land ... they did the painting, concrete work. I saw this young man doing electrical work. I always saw Black men doing things and knew that I could do anything if I applied myself properly.

Construction continues at the site of the Obama Presidential Center on Aug. 22, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

When Powers decided that he wanted to go to school to become an engineer, his father took him around engineers. He would go to Purdue University to achieve that goal (his daughter Kelly followed in his footsteps) Real estate would become a mainstay in Mamon Powers, Jr.s life from being a real estate broker to running a firm that builds commercial and industrial, and other types of general contracting and construction management projects within Illinois and Indiana.

Now with his children Kelly and Mamon Powers, III running the family business Mamon Powers, Jr. is just having fun seeing the success.

It makes me feel good that were able to provide employment for you ... thats what were about. Send your kids to college. Thats what I want to do. Because everybody doesnt want to run a business, but were making those opportunities available for people who want to really do something, he said.

Powers Baria said her grandfather had a saying: Lift as you climb. Its a theme for her dad and the family business. Lifting people, lifting businesses up as Powers & Sons grew and as you went through your career, she said.

Folks in the community are, I think rightfully skeptical of large construction projects, Strautmanis said. I want people to check our work, check our progress, talk to people who are working there to see whats really going on. But approach this with a level of hope that will make people say, you know, maybe this time will be different.

drockett@chicagotribune.com

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Obama Foundation releases hiring report on the Obama Center - Chicago Tribune

When the preacher was asked: Why did you bring a non-Muslim foreign leader into the Friday sermon, the preacher said: Islam does not forbid that, and Muslims have called for the Negus, the king of Abyssinia, and he was not a Muslim, and President Obama is not a Muslim, but he works for the benefit of Islam, and intends good for Muslims.

The Negus was a Muslim, and the Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace) prayed the absentee prayer upon him. Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayah inferred the existence of the independent Negus Muslim state during the time of the Prophet, without merging into the state of the Prophet, on the inevitable political unity of Muslims in a single caliphate and on the legitimacy of the nation state in Islam.

The imams information was not accurate enough, but he was confident that President Obama was intending well for Muslims, and worthy of supplication on the pulpits.

In 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo under President Trump - delivered a speech to the Muslim world from the American University in Cairo. Despite the wide media coverage of the speech, no one outside the university walls had heard of it. On the other hand, President Obama's speech, which he gave 10 years ago at Cairo University, was one of the most important American texts on Islam. That "historic" speech still represents a prominent event today.

It was fortunate that I received an invitation from the Egyptian presidency, signed on behalf of Cairo University, to attend President Obama's speech that summer of 2009. The invitation was a valuable opportunity to attend that defining moment, and to see what the newspapers would not publish in the university hall.

I left my home in central Cairo much earlier, even though the distance from my house is not far from the university. The fear of procedures and crowds necessitated leaving well before the speech. The first surprise of that day was that the streets were completely empty of pedestrians, in a scene similar to the Egyptian movie The President's Cook, when the government vacated the streets while the president was inspecting the lives of citizens, so that he would not see anything.

I thought that the road I took might have had a special situation which called for an evacuation. But President Obama indicated in his memoirs The Promised Land that all the streets of Cairo were empty, from the airport to the university to the pyramids to the Sultan Hassan Mosque, and then said: The difference was amazing between creating the streets of Cairo and crowding the university hall with 3,000 people.

When I reached the entrance to the university, where I had studied political science years ago, the Egyptian police were more relaxed than I expected. Most of the policemen were in a state of confidence and calm, and they showed the audience that nothing was exceptional, despite the tight security and strict arrangements through four security gates.

As soon as we entered the hall, the telephone network was cut off, but the security officials allowed us to go out to speak, and then return to the hall, without any conditions. There was not a single American security guard at the entrance to the university or the entrance to the Grand Ballroom. Egyptian security succeeded in playing an exemplary role in providing security without being obtrusive.

I got to my seat in the middle of the hall, where I could see the whole scene. The first person I met was the great artist and iconic actor Adel Imam, who made many "serious" jokes about the speech and attendance together. Imam, known lovingly by his fans as The Leader, was attentive and present that morning, and the content of his sarcastic words was: "There is nothing new here today, but the celebration itself is new, the event is the party... not what will be said in the party." A number of attendees flocked to take pictures with Adel Imam, and in the meantime, he did not stop his sarcasm.

Next to the Leader sat Sherif Mounir, who was more enthusiastic about the event, and he told me: We are about to witness a historic event. The artist's enthusiasm was apparent in his interruptions of Obamas speech, saying in English, "We love you, Obama.

After a while, one of the attendees came forward and said to me: I saw you on your program The First Edition attacking Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, and challenging his knowledge and patriotism, and I would like to tell you: Dr. Saad Eddin is a great sociologist, and his patriotism is unquestionable. I am Dr. Saads brother.

Next to my seat was the artist Laila Elwi, who asked: What do you think he will tell us? My friends asked me and I told them: I will go and see. I told her: That's a good answer. The first part has been completed and here we are, the second part remains, and we will see shortly.

A new star in the world of American politics was Mrs. Dalia Mogahed, a member of the Advisory Board on Religious Affairs in the White House. We talked for a while, then she surprised me by saying: "I am from the Sayeda Zeinab neighborhood, and my grandmother likes you, and she says that you are a famous person. I told her: I am not as famous as your grandmother imagines, but in any case, I play in the local league, and here is the World Cup." Dalia Mogahed shook hands with the Brotherhood delegation, and this was understandable, then she went and shook hands with Gamal Mubarak, and that was understandable as well.

We waited three hours in the ballroom for the speech to begin, long enough for many in the audience to get to know each other. The students of Cairo University and Al-Azhar University were Egyptian and foreign students, and they filled the upper floors of the hall.

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, the former director of the Egyptian Intelligence Service and later vice president to Mubarak, General Omar Suleiman, Grand Imam Muhammad Sayed Tantawi of Al-Azhar, and Ali Gomaa, the Mufti of Egypt, were the most prominent attendees from Egyptian institutions.

The Americans in charge of the halls stage were very courteous, putting on beautiful music during the waiting hours, including the music of Umm Kulthum, and the music from the Conscience of Abla Hekmat series, starring the great artist Faten Hamama, and thus Star of the Orient and The Lady of the Screen were the main attendees of the American president's speech.

Shortly before President Obama entered, we were approached by Mrs. Hillary Clinton, who was greeted by the audience in the best way. Then appeared President Obama, who garnered massive applause. The first words by President Obama to greet the audience were in Arabic: Assalamu Alaikum. This sentence opened the hearts of all attendees, even those who had reservations about the American president.

Then came the three Quranic verses that went beyond softening hearts to melting hearts. President Obama recited the words of God Almighty in Surat Al-Ahzab: Fear God and speak sound words, and God Almightys saying in Surat Al-Hujurat: O people, we created you from a male and a female. And We made you peoples and tribes so that you may know each other. And the Almightys saying in Surat Al-Maidah: Whoever kills a soul without a soul or corruption in the land, it is as if he killed all people, and whoever saves a life, it is as if he saved the life of all people.

President Obama completed this "historic" speech with a visit to the Sultan Hassan Mosque, taking off his shoes at the entrance of the mosque. Along came Hillary Clinton wearing a head cover. He repeated in his press conferences: "My mission in front of the Muslim world was to show that America is not an enemy to Islam.

A short time passed since the historic speech of the American president at Cairo University, then the collapse of the Arab world and the confusion of the Islamic world began. Externally backed extremists have succeeded in stealing a moment of modernity and change.

Some believe that President Obama and his administration were behind the collapse that afflicted the Arab world. But it cannot be reduced to this without scrutiny. Obama supported President Mubarak in the early days, as did Hillary Clinton, and the opinion of then-vice president Joe Biden was that Mubarak should stay, and that what happened cannot be called an Arab Spring. Had it not been for the failure of the Egyptian administration at the time, the favorable odds would not have shifted to another country.

Some outsiders cannot be excused for supporting extremist groups everywhere. However, because we do not own the outside, we own ourselves, and the safe exit from the darkness of the extremists will only be through our will and vision, it is only ours. In major battles, idiots and villains are alike.

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A chair in the middle of the hall: When Obama said Assalamu Alaikum, and everything started - Opinion - Ahram Online

Where to go and what to see for your fall design fix.

A 1906 image of Isabella Stewart Gardner reading a book. / Photo by Otto Rosenheim (Gardner, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston)

A Fascinating and Dangerous Pursuit: Isabellas Book Collection

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will host an event that sheds light on its founders vast collection of rare books. Gardner found accumulating books to be a pleasure and a challenge; this pursuit would ultimately lead to her passion for collecting works of art. In this program led by Anne-Marie Eze, associate librarian for collections and programs at Harvard Universitys Houghton Library, new insights into the Museums rare book collection will be revealed.

9/8, 25 Evans Way, Boston, 617-566-1401, gardnermuseum.org.

Boston International Fine Art Show

At this long-running show held at the Cyclorama, 40 galleries will showcase their offerings, which span centuries and include an array of styles from old master to contemporary. With some works that truly are investment pieces, the show draws serious collectors along with casual art aficionados interested in the much more affordable works also available. A gala preview with live music kicks off the festivities, and the weekend-long event features special programs and speakers.

10/2010/23, 539 Tremont St., Boston, 617-363-0405, fineartboston.com.

Gropius Glows

Famed modernist, Bauhaus founder, and Harvard architecture professor Walter Gropius resided in Lincoln for many years. His clean-lined home unites art, technology, and the landscape and is run as a museum by Historic New England. Its especially insightful to visit the residence on Saturday evenings when it is open for demonstrations of Gropiuss innovative lighting scheme.

10/22, 11/5, 11/19, and 12/3, 68 Baker Bridge Rd., Lincoln, 617-994-6651, historicnewengland.org.

School of the Museum of Fine Arts Art Sale

This annual sale is the schools most anticipated event of the year. With curated pieces selected by a jury of artists, gallerists, and museum curators, dont miss your chance to acquire inspired new works by students, faculty, alumni, and affiliated artists. The breadth of work in the show represents a range of mediums that are not only visually engaging but thought-provoking as well.

11/411/6, 230 Fenway, Boston, 617-627-0013, smfa.tufts.edu.

Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts (Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley, oil on canvas, 2018, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)

The Obama Portraits Tour

The MFA is the final stop on the national tour of the renowned portraits of President Barack Obama, by Kehinde Wiley, and Mrs. Michelle Obama, by Amy Sherald. The artists are the first African Americans commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to create official portraits of a president and first lady. The U.S. tour began in June 2021 and previously stopped at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum, and other institutions. The MFA will concurrently showcase a crowd-sourced exhibit, Portraits of Leadership, a collection of portraits from the community depicting a diverse range of leaders that will be on display alongside the Obama portraits.

9/310/30, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, 617-267-9300, mfa.org.

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Five Must-See Summer Art Exhibitions in and Around Boston - Boston magazine