The Evolution of Barack Obama

Barack Obama was the first African American president in the history of the United States, but there was a long journey that led to him reaching that historical accomplishment. From attending Harvard Law School to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, one step led to another.

Post-presidency, Barack is still out here doing his thing like writing best-selling books, doing podcasts and commenting on the state of the world.

Here is the evolution of the first Black president of the United States.

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Born in Hawaii

Barack Obama escorts Laura Kong during the graduation ceremony at Punahou School in May 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii to a white American mother, Ann Dunham and Kenyan Father Barack Obama Sr. He grew up with his mother and half-sister, Maya Soetoro. After going to school in Indonesia for a while, he returned to Hawaii to attend Punahou School where he graduated in 1979.

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Columbia University

Obama first attended Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1979 before transferring to Columbia University in 1981 and graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science in 1983.

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Community organizer in Chicago

After two years living in New York, Obama then moved to Chicago, Illinois to work as a community organizer with the Developing Communities Project, a church-based organization, helping set up college prep programs, job training programs and a tenant’s rights program.

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Harvard Law School

Obama decided to go back to school and enrolled in Harvard Law School where he became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review, a student-run organization whose primary purpose is to publish a journal of legal scholarship.

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Civil rights attorney

After graduating from Harvard in 1991, Obama then went back to Chi-town to become a civil rights attorney and a professor at the University of Chicago Law school teaching constitutional law.

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Marrying Michelle

Barack met Michelle Robinson in the summer of 1989 and the two started dating. In 1991 they became engaged and got married on October 4, 1992. The two went on to have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

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Illinois Senate

Shifting his goals, Barack wanted to get involved in politics and was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 for Illinois’ 13th District, which included many neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. He was an Illinois senator from 1997 to 2004.

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U.S. Senate

Obama does not have many political losses in his career, but in 2000, he lost the Democratic primary race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to incumbent Bobby Rush. But in 2004, he was elected to the United States Senate as the junior Senator from Illinois.

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2004 Democratic National Convention

The speech that put him on the map. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Obama delivered the keynote address and it was seen by millions.

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2008 Presidential Election

Obama ran against Hilary Clinton in the Democratic primary and he won the democratic nomination. His Republican opponent was Senator John McCain from Arizona. On November 4, 2008, Obama won the presidency and delivered his victory speech before thousands at Grant Park in Chicago.

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Withdraw troops from Iraq

In his first few days in office, Obama issued executive orders to develop plans to withdraw troops from Iraq and the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

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2009 Nobel Peace Prize

In this Dec. 10, 2009, file photo, President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama poses with his medal and diploma alongside Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at City Hall in Oslo, Norway.

Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” according to The Nobel Prize.

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Affordable Care Act

President Barack Obama delivers a health care address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 9, 2009.

Also known as Obamacare, Obama signed this landmark bill in 2010 and is a law that increased health insurance coverage for the uninsured and put in reforms to the health insurance market, according to American Medical Association.

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Death of Osama Bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, the group that was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, was killed by Navy SEALS after Obama authorized a raid of the compound where Laden was hiding.

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2012 Presidential Election

Vice President Joe Biden, right, talks to President Barack Obama at their election night party Nov. 7, 2012, in Chicago.

Obama decided to run it back during the 2012 presidential election. He basically ran unopposed for the Democratic Party primaries and was easily nominated as the Democratic candidate. This time, his Republican opponent was the then-former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney , who he ultimately beat.

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Same-sex marriage legalized

The North Portico and front of the White House facing Pennsylvania Avenue and Lafayette Park in Washington, is lit in the color of the rainbow, on Friday, June 26, 2015, after the United States Supreme Court issued the decision in the case of Obergefell v, Hodges ruling that same-sex marriage is legal in all states.

During this term, one of the first things the Obama administration did was urge the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans and deem them unconstitutional. Same-sex marriage was ultimately legalized nationwide in 2015.

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Gun control

With a tear running from his eye, President Barack Obama recalls the 20 first-graders killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School, while speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence.

In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Obama advocated for gun control and a ban on assault weapons. Exactly one month after the shooting, Obama signed multiple executive orders regarding gun control and pressed Congress to ban assault weapons.

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Leaving office

Former President Barack Obama waves as he prepares to leave the East Front of the Capitol after the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2016.

With his second term coming to an end, so did Obama’s historic presidency. His successor, Republican Donald Trump and served as president for one term, eventually losing to Joe Biden, Obama’s former vice president, during the 2020 Presidential election.

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Role in 2020 presidential election

Former US President Barack Obama speaks in support of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden during a election eve drive-in campaign rally at the Florida International University on November 2, 2020 in Miami, Florida.

Despite not being the president, Obama has stayed active in Democratic politics. He appeared at the 2020 Democratic National Convention and campaigned for Biden during the 2020 presidential election.

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Writing career

Obama has also been an accomplished author throughout his career writing three bestselling books: Dreams from My Father in 1995, The Audacity of Hope in 2006 and A Promised Land in 2020.

The Evolution of Barack Obama

From Hawaii to the White House, Barack Obama is an historic figure who will never be forgotten.

Born in Hawaii

Born in Hawaii

Columbia University

Columbia University

Community organizer in Chicago

Community organizer in Chicago

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Civil rights attorney

Civil rights attorney

Marrying Michelle

Marrying Michelle

Illinois Senate

Illinois Senate

U.S. Senate

U.S. Senate

2004 Democratic National Convention

2004 Democratic National Convention

2008 Presidential Election

2008 Presidential Election

Withdraw troops from Iraq

Withdraw troops from Iraq

2009 Nobel Peace Prize

2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Affordable Care Act

Affordable Care Act

Death of Osama Bin Laden

Death of Osama Bin Laden

2012 Presidential Election

2012 Presidential Election

Same-sex marriage legalized

Same-sex marriage legalized

Gun control

Gun control

Leaving office

Leaving office

Role in 2020 presidential election

Role in 2020 presidential election

Writing career

Writing career