Grieving Critically: Barack Obama and the Counter-Eulogy

Abstract

How can grieving communities respond to public loss while also seizing the reflective and transformative potential inherent in moments of collective mourning? In this article, I explore this question by analyzing and critiquing fifty-seven of the official funeral speeches Barack Obama delivered during his presidency. I compare Obama’s national eulogies to two ancient mourning traditions: the Homeric mode and the Athenian mode. I further argue that, like these ancient modes, Obama’s eulogies may suppress critical thought, perpetuate us/them thinking, and prioritize individual interests above communal ties. I therefore propose and theorize the counter-eulogy, a thoughtful, critical, and self-reflective mode of official funeral rhetoric inspired by the counter-monument artistic movement and other alternative mourning practices. I analyze Obama’s eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney as an example of a counter-eulogy. In doing so, I illustrate how counter-eulogies preserve the ritual features of traditional national eulogies while also capturing the democratic potentiality inherent in moments of public grief.