Barack Obama pays tribute to American songs and artists that have shown our country the way forward, from country to blues, Motown, jazz, and more.

The freedom that we enjoy today is the outcome of years – if not decades – of struggle. We’ve been in a period of relative peace, but the upheaval of the past year has jostled many Americans out of stupor, especially following the recent shooting of Renee Good in a city that has been overrun by federal officers. Renowned presidential historian Jon Meacham gives Ali Velshi a sober analysis of this moment in American history. “I don’t know if it’s likely we’ll prevail,” he says. “All I have is the evidence of our past which is that we have, just barely, managed to keep this experiment towards this more perfect union unfolding.”