Barack's Parents

Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, known as Ann, was a student at the University of Hawaii when she met Barack Obama Sr., a Kenyan student studying economics. He came from a Luo family and had grown up herding goats in Kenya before earning a scholarship to study in Hawaii. The couple married in 1961, a time when interracial marriage was still illegal in many parts of the United States.

Barack's Mom

Ann dropped out of college to care for Barack Jr. when Barack Sr. left to pursue a PhD in economics at Harvard. Their marriage ended in 1964. Ann later returned to her studies, earning a degree in anthropology while raising her son as a single mother. She relied on food stamps and support from her family to finish her education. Over the next two decades, she completed a PhD with a thesis on Indonesian blacksmithing.

Education and Early Job Experience

Barack moved to Indonesia at age six after Ann married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian student she met at university. They moved to Java and had a daughter, Maya. Barack attended schools in Indonesia before returning to Hawaii at age ten to live with his grandparents. He attended Punahou School and graduated with honors in 1979. Barack later attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and then Columbia University in New York, majoring in political science with a focus on international relations.

After college, Barack worked in Chicago from 1985–1988 as a community organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP). The organization helped neighborhoods affected by the decline of the steel industry. He organized job training, college prep tutoring, and tenant rights programs. Inspired to create broader change, he went to Harvard Law School and became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he returned to Chicago, working on civil rights cases and voter protection.

Marriage and Children

Barack taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School and married Michelle Robinson in 1992. They met while he was a summer intern at a law firm where she was assigned as his mentor. Together they have two daughters, Malia (b. 1998) and Sasha (b. 2001). In 1995, he published his memoir, Dreams From My Father, which was later adapted into an award-winning audiobook.

First Political Roles

In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he focused on ethics, tax relief, health care, and education reforms. In 2004, he gained national recognition after a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. That same year, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming just the third African American to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction. In the Senate, he promoted transparency, alternative energy, arms control, and veterans' benefits.

President

Barack Obama became the Democratic nominee for president in 2008 after defeating Hillary Clinton. He won the presidency against Republican John McCain, becoming the 44th—and first African-American—president. In 2009, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. He signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, expanding health care access but also sparking controversy and legal challenges.

In 2011, U.S. Navy SEALs killed terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Obama also worked to improve relations with Cuba and Iran. He was re-elected in 2012, defeating Mitt Romney, and served a second term through 2016. During his second term in office (2013–2017), President Obama focused on issues like immigration reform, climate change, and gun control, though many of his efforts faced opposition in Congress. He continued to defend the Affordable Care Act and oversaw the legalization of same-sex marriage after a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2015. His administration also restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, reached a nuclear agreement with Iran, and emphasized clean energy initiatives. Despite political challenges, he remained a popular figure internationally and continued to advocate for unity and equality.

Some of Obama's Accomplishments

Discussion Questions

1. Why was Barack Obama's election as president such a historic event?
2. How did Barack Obama's early life in Indonesia and Hawaii shape his values and leadership style?
3. What were the main goals of the Affordable Care Act, and why did it face so much criticism?
4. How did Obama's background in community organizing influence his political priorities?

Glossary

• Anthropology – The study of human societies, cultures, and their development.
• Interracial marriage – A marriage between people of different racial backgrounds.
• Harvard Law Review – A prestigious legal journal published by students at Harvard Law School.
• Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) – A U.S. health care reform law that expanded insurance coverage and aimed to reduce health care costs.
• Community organizer – A person who works to improve conditions and rights in a community through activism and programs.