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Barack Obama Hails Manchester Cotton Workers as Inspiration in Manchester Speech
Barack Obama told tens of thousands at An Evening With Barack Obama at Co-op Live in Manchester on Thursday that the city's cotton workers, who backed enslaved African Americans during the American civil war despite the cost to themselves, remain an inspiration.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 16, 2026
• 3 Min Read
In his barack obama manchester speech at Co-op Live on Thursday, the former US president devoted his closing story to the manchester cotton workers of 1862, whose stand of solidarity he called a "wonderful" inspiration for today.
A story of solidarity from 1862
Obama recounted that in 1862, during the American civil war, Manchester workers' livelihoods depended on cotton while the Union had set up a barricade keeping cotton from leaving the South. Business people, manufacturers and even newspapers urged against the blockade, he said.
"I think even the Guardian editorialised 'don't mess with that, you know, this is our lifeblood'."
Despite hunger, workers met at the Free Trade Hall and chose, in Obama's telling, to stand with those fighting for freedom despite the cost. They wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln and he wrote back, commending them for what Obama described as a historic expression of Christian humility and charity, and grace. Their lives were better for the stand even amid hardship, Obama said.
An Evening With Barack Obama
Tens of thousands packed Co-op Live for An Evening With Barack Obama. The event's details:
- •The writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch interviewed Obama.
- •The event ran for 90 minutes.
- •It was punctuated by cheers, whoops, laughter and applause from the audience.
Race, democracy and identity
Hirsch spoke of the impact of Obama's 2008 A More Perfect Union speech, including for her as a black British person of mixed heritage. Obama said his identity is reflected in his politics in ways particular to the United States and in ways more universal.
He told the audience that race is a faultline of so much of American history, and that the union made compromises effectively ratifying slavery before a civil war was fought. He said he became, in his view, a symbol of that journey the country took - a moment when the idea that 'we the people' means all people seemed validated, though it did not erase the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow.
"We tend to forget how recently democracy has taken hold and how fragile it is."
Obama described democracy as a journey that required continual replenishment to avoid falling back into old ways. For most of human history, he said, societies were organised around caste, hierarchy, violence and force.
The Obama foundation and Zelenskyy
Obama also discussed the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, a museum, library and education project. Other points from his appearance:
- •His foundation works on economic inequality, the climate crisis, education and health.
- •It runs programmes for women and girls, global emerging leaders and journalists in oppressive regimes.
- •He welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the city.
He said it was a good thing for the prime minister and former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to have Zelenskyy here and remind people what is at stake. Closing the evening, Obama said telling such stories to children and grandchildren will help people get through current times: "We'll get through these times too."
