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BY BILLY MCCARTHY

PER. LA6-7

Barack Obama an American story

by Bob Carlton and Ariele Gentiles

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Barack Obama an American Story

Humble Beginnings College and Self-Discovery The Community Organizing Education Breaking Barriers at Harvard A Love Story In the Illinois State Senate Family Life and Fatherhood A Bold Assertion The Year Everything Changed A U.S. Senator Paves the Way A Historic Presidential Campaign A Call to Action

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Humble Beginnings

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents were a white American mother and a black Kenyan father. His parents met in Russian language class at University of Hawaii Obama’s parents where married on Feb. 2, 1961 even though both parents

disapproved. Obama’s mother was only 18 at the time. Barack was born a few months later. Shortly after his mother went back to school, Obama’s father received a

scholarship to Harvard University. After he graduated he planned to go back to Kenya.

Obama and his mother decided not to follow. Obama’s parents divorced when Barrack was only two.

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Continuing Humble Beginnings

A few years after the divorce, Barack’s mother got remarried to an Indonesia man and had a daughter, Maya.

Later they moved to Indonesia. When Barack was 10 he moved back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. He went to the Punahou School on a scholarship. Where he was one of

three African Americans. In 1971 Barack and his father met for the first and last time since his parents

divorce. Despite all the challenges he graduated from Punahou and was offered a full

scholarship to a liberal arts college in California.

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College and Self- Discovery

After finding that a liberal arts college was not the best thing for him. He moved to an ivy league college in New York Columbia University.

He studied for a degree in political science. At Columbia he decided to fully engage with his studies. He quit smocking

and started running three miles a day everyday. He became involved in the black students organization. When he spent a short time in New York he did a lot of spiritual exploration. Later he started going to St. Augustine every Sunday. Obama began to explore African-American church and social movements of

change.

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The Community Organizing Education

After graduating he remained in New York regularly seeking out position as a community organizer, and paying student loans.

In the mid-80’s Obama moved to South side Chicago as a Community Organizer with the CCRC.

At the age of 24 Obama was sometimes less than half the age of many of the people he was trying to organize.

He was the first admit his inexperience with true grass root community development .

He began by going door-to-door to talk to people in their homes about issues they most cared about.

Obama believed organizing begins with the problems facing inner-city communities and that the only way for communities to build long-term power is by organizing people and money in a equal around a common vision.

“Community Organizing is an approach for developing power and relationships throughout local institutions such as

congregations, unions, and associations”

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Continuing The Community Organizing Education

Obama worked on the Developing Communities Project (DCP). Under his leadership the DCP grew to include a staff of thirteen and an

annual budget of roughly $400,000. During this time he made a visit to Kenya, he learned of his father’s

unfortunate fate while he lived there. His father had returned to Kenya with a Harvard degree, he worked as a high ranking official in the government. But he became frustrated and lost his idealism. Then he lost his job and died in a car accident.

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Breaking Barriers at Harvard Law School

In 1988 it was no understatement to say that Obama was different form his class mates - with a leather bomber jacket, big afro, and worn out jeans.

He was considered one of the 1500 students to be the next great future lawyers.

But he was in great debt with $25,000 in student loans. Obama later became an editor for the Harvard Law Review which is

considered the most important group on campus. His classmates said that his ability to find common ground was huge for him. In his second year his friends encouraged him to run for President of the

Law Review which no black person has ever held. Then the next month he won. He beat out 24-year old David Goldberg. Obama demonstrated the same hard work in a very different place, on the

basketball court, with sharp elbows and aggressive grabs for the ball.

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A Love Story

After his first year at Harvard, Obama returned to Chicago for a summer job as an intern at a prestigious Law Firm, Sidney Austin.

Michelle was his summer advisor. They had a professional relationship, Michelle was busy playing match maker,

fixing up Obama with friends. But that was not what Obama had in mind. Later in the summer Obama asked Michelle out.

Michelle’s brother Craig was convinced that he was going to be, “another one that was just not going to make it.”

To prove to Craig that he was going somewhere they played a basketball games ,since Michelle’s father always said that you can tell about a man on the basketball court.

Their first date, they saw Spick Lee, Do The Right Thing. After a few years of dating there was a question about marriage. So one night

at dinner in 1991 Obama brought up the subject, Michelle was so mad she and said it was time to get serious about their relationship.

At that dinner, instead of dessert, there was a box with an engagement ring, he asked her to marry him, she said yes.

They got married in 1992.

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In the Illinois State Senate

In 1996 Obama ran for the Senate seat for Illinois. Obama emerged by developing a style for that former colleagues described

as methodical. One of the most difficult pieces of legislation Obama worked on was his

campaign for finance effort. Obama favored more ambitious changes in his campaign including limits on

contributions. He continued with his ambitious campaign with knowing that he might not

get everything he wanted. The result, according to good-government groups, was “the most ambitious

campaign in 25 years”. Obama’s work made Illinois one of the nations best in the nation on

campaign finance disclosure . Obama played in an important role in a complex debate that led to the 2003

reform of legislation regarding Illinois death penalty laws.

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Family Life and Fatherhood

His first daughter Malia was born in 1998. Their second daughter Sasha was born in 2001. It was important to Obama to spend time with his family especially with his

daughters because he did not want to be like his father and not spend any time with them.

His father’s difficult life motivated him to work hard for his families and the families in his community.

While visiting the Church of God in Chicago at an men assembly he urges fathers to get active with their children show them that you are there. He stated:

“ I know what it means to have an absent father although my circumstances were not as touch as many young people today.”

Early in his presidential campaign he told parents in the stand and on watching T.V. to turn it off and read with your kids and help them with their homework .

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A Bold Assertion

One of the most unknown things about his time in the Senate is the same day Congress authorized the war on Iraq, he gave an anti-war rally in Chicago.

Obama’s opposition on the war was influenced by Dr. King’s opposition on the Vietnam war.

Obama respected King’s view that it would send the country into poverty which many people are feeling today.

He spoke to people all over Illinois that where concerned about the Iraq war. Rev. Jesse Jackson took the podium and completely agreed with what Obama

was saying. Obama was for the Afghanistan war because he wanted to protect his

country. But in that same speech he said that he was completely against the Iraq

war and said it was a “dumb war. Obama’s speech received little attention in the local or national press,

instead the headlines where Senate votes 77-23 to authorize the war in Iraq. But it would not be long till Obama expresses his view in an even larger

playing field.

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The Year Everything Changed 2003 - 2004

Obama decided to run for an open US Senate seat for the state of Illinois. A number of democrats were running for the seat, Obama was a state

Senator at the time. Obama was selected by John Kerry to be a speaker at the Democratic

National Convention in Boston. His speech was based on the lessons that he learned in his life. Obama ‘s speech was inspirational in it he stated:

“I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs and that we stand on the crossroads of history we can make the right

choices and meet the changes that face us” Obama ran against Republican Alan Keyes. Obama won by a landslide carrying 70 percent of the votes to start in the US

Senate in 2004.

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A U.S. Senator Paves the Way

Obama was only the 3rd African American to join the Senate He focused on making changes to improve education, reduce crime,

improve the environment and lobbying reform. The first bill he introduced was called HOPE – Higher Education Opportunity

Through Pell Grant Expansion Act He took this bill over from Joe Biden This bill provided funding for college – helping more US students afford college This bill was important to him because he was responsible for paying for his

education He supported bills to reduce crimes against women and to encourage gun

control He participated on the Foreign Relations committee a He travelled to Russia, his goals were to decrease weapons of mass destruction

and keep them out of the hands of terrorists He travelled to Africa, he was able to promote awareness of HIV, he went to

refugee camps and visited with leaders in South Africa He also worked on Homeland Security where he focused on the securities of

our communities and terrorism prevention

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A Historic Presidential Campaign

Obama announced his candidacy for the democratic party primary for President on February 10, 2007

The campaign was historic because it included a woman, an African American and a Hispanic American as candidates.

Obama focused on the issue of ending the war in Iraq and increasing energy independence and providing universal health care.

There were a series of close election wins in key states during the primary against Hillary Clinton.

Obama was able to overcome the controversial topic of race that was brought on by his former Pastor Jeremiah Wright by making a critical speech addressing this topic.

Senator Hillary Clinton lost ground to Obama, ended her campaign and endorsed Obama for President

Obama then chose Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his Vice Presidential running mate and accepted the Democratic nomination for President at the Democratic National Convention

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A Call to Action

Barack Obama has called all Americans to take action to improve the conditions for individuals in their local towns and in the nation as a whole.

He wants Americans to strive for change. He stated:

“I am running for President, right now, because of what Dr. king called the fierce urgency of now. This moment is too important to sit

on the sidelines.”

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President Barack Obama

Humble beginningsCommunity organizerHarvard Law SchoolIllinois State SenateUS State SenatorPresident of the United States

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord”.

- President Obama Inaugural Speech