Presidents’ Day is meant to honor and remember all who have served as the leader of the free world. That sounds all good and dandy but there’s truly only one that matters to us: Barack Obama.
Although he was the first African American president in the U.S., there was a long journey that led to the White House. From attending Harvard Law School to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, one step led to another.
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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. Still, we want to know how it all began. Let’s go deep into his journey.
Here is the evolution of the first Black president.
Born in 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Inauguration
On January 20, 2009, Obama was inaugurated as the president of the united states. Hundreds of thousands across the world came to see and hear the inaugural address and watch as Barack and his wife, Michelle, walk the inaugural parade route.
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.
2009 Nobel Peace Prize
Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” according to The Nobel Prize.
Affordable Care Act
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.
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.
2012 Presidential Election
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.
Same-sex marriage legalized
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.
Gun control
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.
Leaving office
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.
Role in the 2020 presidential election
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.
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.
Other post-presidency ventures
Obama started to get into the media space after a career in politics. In 2021, he started a podcast with Bruce Springsteen titled Renegades: Born in the USA. In 2022, Barack and Michelle’s podcast company, Higher Ground, inked a multi-year deal with Amazon’s Audible.
Return to the White House
In April 2022, Barack returned to the White House for the first time since his presidency to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act.
White House portraits
In September 2022, Barack returned to the White House again, this time with his wife Michelle to unveil their beautiful White House portraits.
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