By becoming the first African-American leader of the United States, Barack Obama has been an inspiration to millions. His remarkable public speaking skills, words of encouragement and hope, and belief in the American people have led him to fulfill his goal of serving others in the most important position in the country.
Early Days of Barack
Born August 4th, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Barack Hussein Obama is the son of Kenyan father Barack Obama, Sr., and Kansas native mother, Ann Dunham. Obama notes in his memoir the difficulties and prejudices faced due to his multiracial heritage. After living with his parents in Jakarta, Indonesia, Barack moved back to Hawaii at the age of 10, and was ultimately raised by his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham. He was enrolled in the esteemed Punahou Academy in fifth grade and graduated with honors in 1979. Being only one of three students at Punahou of color, Barack learned from an early age what it meant to be African-American.
Education
Barack went to Occidental College in Los Angeles after high school. He transferred to Columbia University in New York and graduated with a political science degree in 1983. In 1985, Obama worked as a community coordinator for low-income families in the Atgeld Gardens and Roseland communities in Chicago, Illinois. In 1988 Obama studied at Harvard Law School where he became the first African-American editor of Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in 1991.
Career
Upon graduation Obama returned to Chicago and joined the firm of Miner, Barnhill, and Galland as a civil rights lawyer. He was also teaching at the University of Chicago Law School during this time. Barack was elected into the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat in 1996. During this time, Obama worked with both the Democrats and Republicans in writing legislation on childhood care and expanding health care assistance for underprivileged families.
As an early resister of former President Bush's war with Iraq after 9/11, Barack said "The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without [Saddam Hussein]. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history."
In 2004, Obama received 52 percent of the vote during primaries for an open U.S. Senate seat. November 2004, Barack became the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate. During his time in Senate, Barack was the first to speak out about the avian flu, pushed toward development of alternative energy, spoke up for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and advocated improved veteran benefits.
February 2007, Barack Obama publicized his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. In a campaign against U.S. Senator for New York and former first lady, Hilary Clinton, he became the presumptive nominee and defeated Republican, John McCain for the office of President. As the first African-American to hold this office, Barack Obama is now the 44th President of the United States.
 |
