to point out some reminder of our family’s time here. I thought it was important
to register our presence within the larger history of the place.
Not every president commissioned an official china setting, for instance, but
I made sure we did. During Barack’s second term, we also chose to redecorate
the Old Family Dining Room, situated just off the State Dining Room,
freshening it up with a modern look and opening it to the public for the first
time. On the room’s north wall, we’d hung a stunning yellow, red, and blue
abstract painting by Alma Thomas—Resurrection—which became the first work of
art by a black woman to be added to the White House’s permanent collection.
The most enduring mark, however, lay outside the walls. The garden had
persisted through seven and a half years now, producing roughly two thousand
pounds of food annually. It had survived heavy snows, sheets of rain, and
damaging hail. When high winds had toppled the forty-two-foot-high National
Christmas Tree a few years earlier, the garden had survived intact. Before I left
the White House, I wanted to give it even more permanence. We expanded its
footprint to twenty-eight hundred square feet, more than double its original size.
We added stone pathways and wooden benches, plus a welcoming arbor made of
wood sourced from the estates of Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe and
the childhood home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And then, one fall afternoon,
I set out across the South Lawn to officially dedicate the garden for posterity.
Joining me that day were supporters and advocates who’d helped with our
nutrition and childhood health efforts over the years, as well as a pair of students
from the original class of fifth graders at Bancroft Elementary School, who were
now practically adults. Most of my staff was there, including Sam Kass, who’d left
the White House in 2014 but had returned for the occasion.
Looking out at the crowd in the garden, I was emotional. I felt gratitude for
all the people on my team who’d given everything to the work, sorting through
handwritten letters, fact-checking my speeches, hopping cross-country flights to
prepare for our events. I’d seen many of them take on more responsibility and
blossom both professionally and personally, even under the glare of the harshest
lights. The burdens of being “the first” didn’t fall only on our family’s shoulders.
For eight years, these optimistic young people—and a few seasoned professionals
—had had our backs. Melissa, who had been my very first campaign hire nearly a
decade ago and someone I will count on as a close friend for life, remained with
me in the East Wing through the end of the term, as did Tina, my remarkable
chief of staff. Kristen Jarvis had been replaced by Chynna Clayton, a hardworking