Watch Replay: President Barack Obama's Speech After Accepting 'Profile In Courage' Award At Kennedy Library

BOSTON, MA — President Barack Obama accepted the "Profile in Courage" award at the John. F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston Sunday, marking his second public appearance post-presidency. Obama delivered a speech after accepting the award that was presented to him by Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg.

"Throughout his two terms in office, President Obama upheld the highest standards of dignity, decency and integrity, serving not just as a political leader, but a moral leader, offering hope and healing to the country and providing young men and women of all backgrounds with an example they can emulate in their own lives," a statement on the award page reads.

"President Obama’s entire public life has exemplified the courage that John F. Kennedy celebrated."

The former president delivered a personal and moving speech about what it means to be courageous and how President Kennedy embodied that ideal. He spoke about courage not only in leaders and those in the spotlight but also the ordinary men and women who display courage on a daily basis, whether they are small business owners or the first responders who protect the nation.

Clip: We need courage to seek 'common ground'

Obama also touched on politics, though he was careful in his approach. He spoke about his first term as president and how the many freshmen members of Congress displayed courage when they voted to make health care a right for all and not a privilege for a few, despite the fears of many that they would lose their seats. He said that the health care debate was not over, and he hoped that current members of Congress would display that same courage and vote for what they believe is right.

People have been watching Obama's post-presidential life closely, following the former president on his multiple vacations and speculating whether he would in any public way address the Donald Trump administration and the policies it is putting into place. Sunday's event was Obama's first public speech since leaving office. In late April, he participated in a discussion with students at the University of Chicago, and the students' remarks took up the majority of the time.

"So, uh, what's been going on while I've been gone?" he joked at the opening of his remarks in Chicago.

Sitting onstage with a panel of students and young leaders from the area, Obama spoke about the importance of civic engagement and the next generation's efforts to take up leadership roles. He avoided talking about politics.

Obama's speech Sunday comes the same week that the House of Representatives voted on a new health care bill that would undo parts of the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature legislation. The speech also comes on the same day that France elected the centrist Emmanuel Macron, whom Obama had endorsed, to be its new president.

Watch video of Obama's speech below:

Credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File