Barrack Obama Not the Hero
INTRODUCTION
*Early Life:*
- Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack H. Obama, Sr., and Stanley Ann Dunham.
- His parents divorced when he was 2 years old, and he was raised by his mother, Ann, and maternal grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham.
- Obama moved with his family to Indonesia in 1967, where he attended local Indonesian schools and received additional lessons via U.S. correspondence courses under his mother’s direction.
- He returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents in 1971 and attended Punahou School, from which he graduated in 1979.
*Education:*
- He first attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, before transferring to Columbia University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1983.
- After three years of community organizing, Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School.
- He was elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, prior to graduating magna cum laude in 1991.
*Career:*
- Obama briefly worked as an analyst at Business International Corporation in New York City, before changing his career direction toward community service organizing.
- He relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1985 when he accepted a job with the Developing Communities Project.
- He was elected to the Illinois State Senate from the thirteenth district in 1996.
- He was elected to a second term in the Illinois State Senate in November 1998.
- In 2000, Obama made his first run for the U.S. Congress when he sought the Democratic U.S. House seat in Illinois First District.
- He was elected as the junior Senator from Illinois in November 2004.
- On February 10, 2007, Obama formally announced his candidacy for President of the United States.
- On November 4, 2008, Obama became the first African-American to be elected President.
- Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009.
*Personal Life:*
- Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson were married in 1992 at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ.
- They have two daughters, Malia and Natasha “Sasha.”
- In the summer of 1995, Obama’s first book was published. "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" detailed his personal history and search for identity.
Michelle Obama is the wife of former President Barack Obama ¹. She was the first African American First Lady of the United States ². Here are some key facts about Michelle Obama ³ ⁴:
- Born: January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois
- Education: Princeton University (B.A., 1985) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1988)
- Worked as a lawyer at Sidley & Austin (now Sidley Austin LLP)
- Served as an assistant to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
- Founded the Chicago branch of Public Allies, a leadership-training program for young adults
- Worked at the University of Chicago, first as associate dean of student services and later as executive director of community and external affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center
- First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017
- Supported military families, healthy eating and education during her time as First Lady
- Published an autobiography, "Becoming," in 2018
- Hosted a podcast, "The Michelle Obama Podcast," in 2020
- Published a second book, "The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times," in 2022
