Barack Obama:
"One of 10 people who could change the world."
Growing Up - Honolulu to Indonesia and back
Born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Barack grew up
in culturally diverse surroundings. His father was a student at the University
of Hawaii, where his parents met. They separated when he was two years
old. His father went to Harvard to pursue Ph.D. studies, before returning to
Kenya. From ages six to ten, he lived in Indonesia, then returned to Honolulu
to live with his grandparents from the fifth grade until his graduation.
Teenage Identity Struggles
Obama wrote "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—
that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my
mind." However, he struggled as a teenager to reconcile social perceptions of
his multiracial heritage. He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his
teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind".
LA to NY to Chicago to Harvard and back
After high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at
Occidental College. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York
City, where he majored in political science, specializing in international
relations. After graduation he moved to Chicago to take a job as a
community organizer. As Director of the Developing Communities Project, he
worked with low-income residents and a public housing development. He
entered Harvard Law School in 1988 and was elected the first black president
in the 100 year history of the Harvard Law Review. He returned to Chicago
as an associate attorney, representing community organizers, handling
discrimination claims, and voting rights cases. He also lectured at the
University of Chicago Law School until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
Other Interests
Obama played varsity basketball in high school, and still plays occasionally.
Replying to an AP survey of candidates' personal tastes, he specified
"architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to
cook. Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good
poker player."
Finding Religion
Obama was not raised in a religious household. He describes his mother,
raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the
most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his
Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his
parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly
useful."
In his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizer,
he came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition
to spur social change." Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound
understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend
critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or
otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally
able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be
baptized."
Bestselling Author and Grammy Winner
Obama has written two bestselling books. The first, Dreams from My Father:
A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published after his graduation from law
school and before running for public office. The audiobook edition earned a
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the
American Dream, rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. The
Chicago Tribune credits the large crowds that gathered at book signings with
influencing Obama's decision to run for president.
Everyman Identity
Native American – Jefferson Davis – Hebrew – Bernie Mac – Margaret
Thatcher?
Some have characterized his image as a cultural Rorschach test, a neutral
persona on which people can project their personal histories and aspirations.
He ties his maternal family history to possible Native American ancestors and
distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy
during the American Civil War. Speaking to an elderly Jewish audience during
his campaign for U.S. Senate, he linked his first name to the Hebrew word
baruch, meaning "blessed."
In an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Obama highlighted the diversity
of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for
Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've
got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like
Margaret Thatcher. We've got it all."
Criticized for not being Black Enough
During his campaign for Congress, two rival candidates charged that Obama
was not sufficiently rooted in Chicago's black neighborhoods to represent their
concerns. Film critic David Ehrenstein, compared the cultural sources of his
favorable polling among whites to those of "magical Negro" roles played by black
actors in movies. Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is
"black enough," Obama has argued that the debate is not about his physical
appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. "What it really
lays bare, is that we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white
folks then there must be something wrong."
Position on Iraq War
Obama's prophetic statement from 2002: "Invasion of Iraq, without a clear
rationale and strong international support, will only fan the flames of the
middle east and encourage the worst impulses and strengthen the recruitment
of Al Qaeda. I'm not opposed to all wars, just dumb wars."
To Change the World
In the Washington Post, Eugene Robinson characterized him as “a messenger
who could move the nation beyond the culture wars" of the 1960s. An
article in the British New Statesman listed him as one of "10 people who could
change the world." Time magazine twice named him one of "the world's most
influential people." Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama
remarked in a speech that: "I wouldn't be here if the torch had not been
passed to a new generation."
"One of 10 people who could change the world."
Growing Up - Honolulu to Indonesia and back
Born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Barack grew up
in culturally diverse surroundings. His father was a student at the University
of Hawaii, where his parents met. They separated when he was two years
old. His father went to Harvard to pursue Ph.D. studies, before returning to
Kenya. From ages six to ten, he lived in Indonesia, then returned to Honolulu
to live with his grandparents from the fifth grade until his graduation.
Teenage Identity Struggles
Obama wrote "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—
that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my
mind." However, he struggled as a teenager to reconcile social perceptions of
his multiracial heritage. He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his
teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind".
LA to NY to Chicago to Harvard and back
After high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at
Occidental College. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York
City, where he majored in political science, specializing in international
relations. After graduation he moved to Chicago to take a job as a
community organizer. As Director of the Developing Communities Project, he
worked with low-income residents and a public housing development. He
entered Harvard Law School in 1988 and was elected the first black president
in the 100 year history of the Harvard Law Review. He returned to Chicago
as an associate attorney, representing community organizers, handling
discrimination claims, and voting rights cases. He also lectured at the
University of Chicago Law School until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
Other Interests
Obama played varsity basketball in high school, and still plays occasionally.
Replying to an AP survey of candidates' personal tastes, he specified
"architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to
cook. Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good
poker player."
Finding Religion
Obama was not raised in a religious household. He describes his mother,
raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the
most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his
Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his
parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly
useful."
In his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizer,
he came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition
to spur social change." Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound
understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend
critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or
otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally
able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be
baptized."
Bestselling Author and Grammy Winner
Obama has written two bestselling books. The first, Dreams from My Father:
A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published after his graduation from law
school and before running for public office. The audiobook edition earned a
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the
American Dream, rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. The
Chicago Tribune credits the large crowds that gathered at book signings with
influencing Obama's decision to run for president.
Everyman Identity
Native American – Jefferson Davis – Hebrew – Bernie Mac – Margaret
Thatcher?
Some have characterized his image as a cultural Rorschach test, a neutral
persona on which people can project their personal histories and aspirations.
He ties his maternal family history to possible Native American ancestors and
distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy
during the American Civil War. Speaking to an elderly Jewish audience during
his campaign for U.S. Senate, he linked his first name to the Hebrew word
baruch, meaning "blessed."
In an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Obama highlighted the diversity
of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for
Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've
got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like
Margaret Thatcher. We've got it all."
Criticized for not being Black Enough
During his campaign for Congress, two rival candidates charged that Obama
was not sufficiently rooted in Chicago's black neighborhoods to represent their
concerns. Film critic David Ehrenstein, compared the cultural sources of his
favorable polling among whites to those of "magical Negro" roles played by black
actors in movies. Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is
"black enough," Obama has argued that the debate is not about his physical
appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. "What it really
lays bare, is that we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white
folks then there must be something wrong."
Position on Iraq War
Obama's prophetic statement from 2002: "Invasion of Iraq, without a clear
rationale and strong international support, will only fan the flames of the
middle east and encourage the worst impulses and strengthen the recruitment
of Al Qaeda. I'm not opposed to all wars, just dumb wars."
To Change the World
In the Washington Post, Eugene Robinson characterized him as “a messenger
who could move the nation beyond the culture wars" of the 1960s. An
article in the British New Statesman listed him as one of "10 people who could
change the world." Time magazine twice named him one of "the world's most
influential people." Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama
remarked in a speech that: "I wouldn't be here if the torch had not been
passed to a new generation."
barack obama
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