HERE'S A BRIEF BIO OF OUR PRESIDENT!!!
Barack Obama BiographyBarack Obama is the 44th President–Elect of the United States of America and the first African–American to be elected to office.
He was thrust into the national spotlight when he delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. His speech expressed hope for the future of the country, and echoed Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech.
Obama was born in Hawaii to an African father and a white American mother, and raised briefly in Indonesia. His mixed heritage is often viewed as a representation of America’s diverse population, and a bridge between many viewpoints.
The young community organizer’s political career began in the Illinois State Senate in 1996, followed by the U.S. Senate in 2004. Despite a relatively short term in government service, Obama’s popularity during his presidential campaign was unparalleled. His election bid attracted an overwhelming number of African–American, first time, and young voters.
Obama has continually supported a number of social issues; advocated a decrease in taxes for middle to low-income families; and pushed for a transparency in government actions. His campaign slogans “Yes We Can,” and “Change We Need” became the rally cry for a new generation seeking to improve the deteriorating social and economic climate of the country.
Trivia
The audio book version of Obama’s 2006 biography Dreams Of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance won a Grammy as did his 2008 audio book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. The first law Obama passed as a U.S. Senator allowed Americans to view how tax dollars were being spent. Obama is only the sixth post–war president to be left–handed. Obama’s first name, Barack, means “blessed” in Swahili. He was nicknamed Barry as a child, “O’Bomber” in high school for his skill at basketball, and “Bar” by his late grandmother. The desk in Obama’s Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy. Barack Obama has six half–brothers and one half–sister on his paternal side, and one half–sister on his maternal side. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign raised a record $650 million, most of it coming in the form of small donations. Community Service
Public Allies, founding member of the board of directors (1992) Woods Fund of Chicago, board of directors (1994 - 2002) The Joyce Foundation, board of directors (1994 - 2002) Chicago Annenberg Challenge, board of directors (1995 - 2002)
*founding president and chairman from (1995 - 1999) Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, board of directors Center for Neighborhood Technology, board of directors Lugenia Burns Hope Center, board of directors Notable Biographies
“Dreams Of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” by Barack Obama (2004) “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” by Barack Obama (2008) “The American Journey of Baraack Obama” by The Editors of Life Magazine (2008) “Yes We Can: A Biography of Barack Obama” by Garen Thomas (2008) Milestones1961
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is born on August 4th in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., is from Kenya. Mother Ann Dunham, is originally from Wichita, Kansas. The couple separates after two years, and divorces in 1964.
1967
His mother marries Lolo Soetoro, and the family moves to Soetoro’s homeland of Indonesia. Young Obama attends the Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School, and then a public school.
1971
He is sent to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attends the prestigious Punahou School on scholarship. He joins the basketball team, and also experiments with smoking, drinking, and even drugs.
1972
His mother leaves her second husband and returns from Indonesia with her two–year–old daughter, Maya. Barack, his mother, and his new half–sister move into a small apartment. His biological father pays the family a visit in Hawaii for the first time since the separation.
1979
Obama graduates from the Panahou School, then moves to Los Angeles, California, to attend Occidental College.
1981
He transfers to Columbia University in New York City, and majors in political science.
1982
His father dies in a car accident.
1983
He graduates from Columbia and takes a job at the Business International Corporation as a research associate and writer for, a weekly financial newsletter. He quits to work for the New York Public Interest Research Group.
1985
He starts working with the Developing Communities Project, a Chicago–based program that helps to improve the conditions of public housing.
1988
He travels to Europe, then to Africa to visit his father's hometown of Alego, Kenya, and get to know his extended family. He later says the visit "helped unify my outward self with my inward self in an important way."
He is baptized at the Church of Christ and begins Harvard Law School in Ǭ
the fall.
1989
During his summers at law school, he works at the Chicago law firms Sidley & Austin and Hopkins & Sutter. At Sidley he meets Michelle Robinson who has been appointed his adviser. They begin dating and maintain a long-distance relationship when he returns to Harvard in the fall.
1990
In February he becomes the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.
1991
Barack Obama graduates magna cum laude from Harvard Law School with his Juris Doctor.
He signs with a publisher to begin writing his autobiography.
1992
He begins teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. He also becomes the director of Illinois Project Vote, registering around 100,000 new voters mostly in the African-American community.
On October 10th, he weds Michelle Robinson at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois.
1993
He takes a job at the firm of Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Gallard in Chicago as a junior lawyer with the hopes of working on civil rights cases.
1995
His autobiography "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" is published.
His mother dies of ovarian cancer on November 7th.
1996
He is elected to the Illinois State Senate and is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School.
1998
His daughter Malia Ann is born on July 4th.
He is re-elected to the Illinois Senate.
1999
Obama loses the Democratic primary run for U.S. House of Representatives.
2001
His second daughter Natasha "Sasha" is born on June 8th.
2002
He is re-elected again to Illinois Senate.
2003
In January he becomes chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee and runs for U.S. Senate.
2004
On July 7th, he delivers the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.
The poignant and inspiring speech is remembered as a pivotal moment in his political career, and propels him into the spotlight.
He is elected to U.S. Senate on November 2nd, becoming only the fifth African-American Senator in history.
2006
He publishes a second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. The title is a reference to his 2004 DNC keynote speech.
2007
On February 10th, he announces his candidacy for President of the United States.
2008
On June 3rd, he defeats Senator Hillary Clinton in the democratic primaries, and becomes the first African-American presidential nominee.
In July he travels to Europe, the Middle East, and Germany. In Berlin, he gives a speech to a crowd of around 200,000 that is compared to John F. Kennedy's famed "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" speech.
On November 2nd his grandmother Madelyn dies from cancer.
On November 4th, he defeats republican opponent John McCain and wins the election, becoming the first African-American President-Elect of the United States of America. His victory speech is delivered at Grant Park in Chicago, and attended by thousands of supporters.
On November 16th, he resigns his senate seat as he prepares to take presidential office in January 2009.
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