Synopsis

Barack Obama, the 44th and current president of the United States, was born on August  4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. he was a civil rights lawyer before pursuing a political career, first as Illinois State Senator, and later as the first African-American president of the United states. President Barack Obama continues to enact policy changes in response of the issues of health care and economic crisis.

Early Life

Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama did not have a relationship with his father as a child. Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr. left to attend Harvard University, pursuing Ph.D. studies, when his son was still an infant.

While living with his grandparents, Obama enrolled in the esteemed Punahou Academy, excelling in basketball and graduating with academic honors in 1979. As one of only three black students at the school, Obama became conscious of racism and what it meant to be African-American. He later described how he struggled to reconcile social perception of his multiracial heritage with his own sense of self. "I began to notice there was nobody like me in the Sears, Roebuck Christmas catalog... and that Santa was a white man," he said. "I went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror with all my senses and limbs seemingly intact, looking the way I had always looked, and wondered if something was wrong with me."

Obama also struggled with the absence of his father, who he saw only once more after his parents divorced, in a brief 1971 visit. "[My father] had left paradise, and nothing that my mother of grandparents told me could obviate that single, unassailable fact," he later reflected. "They couldn't describe what it might have been like had he stayed. "Obama, Sr. eventually lost his legs in an automobile accident, also losing his job as a result. In 1982, he died in yet another car accident while traveling in Nairobi. Obama, Jr. was 22 years old when he received the news of his father's passing." At the time of his death, my father remained a myth to me," Obama said, " both more and less than a man."

After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science. After working in the business sector for two years, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked on the South Side as a community organizer for low-income residents in the Roseland and the Altgeld Gardens communities.

Law Career

It was during this time that Obama, who said he "was not raised in a religious household," joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya, which included an emotional visit to the graves of his biological father and paternal grandfather." For a long time I sat between the two graves and wept," Obama said. "I saw that my life in America-the black life, the white life, the sense of abandonment I felt as a boy, the frustration and hope I'd witnessed in Chicago-all of it was connected with this small plot of earth an ocean away."

Obama returned from Kenya with a sense of renewal, entering Harvard Law School in 1988. The next year, he met Michelle Robinson, an associate at Sidley & Austin law firm in Chicago. She was assigned to be Obama's adviser during a summer internship at the firm, and soon the couple began dating.

After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, joining the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law school, and helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. On October 3, 1992, he and Michelle were married. They move to Kenwood, on Chicago's South Side, and welcomed two daugthers: Malia and Sasha.

Key Vocabulary

1. She was overcome with grief she could do nothing but ______________.

(= cry, shed tears, sob)

2. Family traditions and _____________ are customarily legacy passed from parent to a child.

(= birthright, legacy)

3. He ____________ by himself to get the company again.

(= try hard to do it)

4. He had a typical upbringing in which he received maternal love and _____________ authority.

5. The baby had been _______________ by its mother.

(= leaving, desertion)

A. abandoned

B. struggled

C. paternal

D. heritage

E. weep

Post Activity

(                ) was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In 1982, (              ) died in yet another car accident while traveling in Nairobi.

Obama moved to (       ) in 1985.

Obama entered Harvard Law school in (    ).

Obama met Michell Robinson in Chicago.

(                     ), he and Michelle were married

homework worksheet

2008 Presidential Election

In February 2007, Obama made headline when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. he was locked in a tight battel with former first lady and then-U.S. Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton. On June 3, 2008, however, Obama became the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party, and Senator Clinton delivered her full support to Obama for the duration of his campaign. On Novermber 4th, 2008, Barack Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee John McCain for the position of U.S. President, 52.9 precent to 45.7 percent. On January 20, 2009, Obama became the 44th president of the United States- and the first African-American to hold this office. Obama's running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, became vice president.

When Obama took office, he inverited a global economic recession; two on-going foreign wars; and the lowest international favorability rating for the Inited States ever. He capaigned on an ambitious agenda of financial reform, alternative energy, and reinventing education and health care-all while bringing down the national debt. Because these issues were intertwined with the economic well-being of the nation, he believed all would have to be undertaken simultaneously. during his inauguration speech, Obama summarized the situation by saying, " Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. they will not be met easily or in a short span of time. but know this, America: They will be met."

2012 Campaign

Obama has begun his campaign to win a second term. As he did in his 2008 run, he is focusing much of his efforts on grassroots initiatives. Obama supporters are asked to volunteer on behalf of their candidate. He has also been traveling the country, attending fundraisers and giving speeches. Celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker have also been helping the president by hosting events to raise campaign funds.

Some political polls show that Obama has a tough fight ahead him, against Republican opponent Mitt Romney and Romney's vice-presidential running mate, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan. But the president seems more than ready for the challenge. At a campaign event in Maryland in June 2012, Obama asked for the crowd's support and pledged to continue the work he began in his first term. "So if you're willing to stick with me and fight with me, ... I guarantee you we will move this country forward. We will finish what we started. And we’ll remind the world just why it is the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth."

Detail Questions

A.What did Obama struggle for?(2A)

① He struggled to reconcile social perception of his multiracial heritage.

② He struggled to marry white, rich girl for a better social status.

③ He struggled with the absence of his father.

④ He struggled to disguise him as a white person.

B. What was difference from other students in the Sears?

① He was a gloomy character, while other boys had outgoing personality.

② He got attractive looks and the sculpted body to melt down the heart of any         girls.

③ He was African-American while other boys were whites.

C. Who was the existence of myth to Obama?

① His teacher

② His wife

③ His father

④ His mother

D. What did he do with a sense of renewal?

① He went into the church and became minister.

② He started a cultural enterprise to oppose racial discrimination.

③ He entered Harvard Law school in 1988 to be a lawyer.