By Mrs. Lebovic & Mrs. Campbells’First Grade Class

We all know that on January 20th this country’s first African-American president was sworn in. But what do we know about President Obama before he became president??

Esha

His mother was from Kansas and his father was from Kenya. They met and married as students at the University of Hawaii.

Leo

President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. The name Barack means blessed.

Hanna

Shortly after President Obama was born, his father left to attend Harvard University. Later his father moved back to Kenya after his parents’ divorce.

Sam

President Obama’s mother married a man from Indonesia and the family moved to Jakarta.

Ava

In 1970 President Obama’s half-sister, Maya, was born. She was named after an author named Maya Angelou. Today she is a history teacher in Hawaii.

Roman

President Obama moved back to Hawaii at age 6 and was brought up by his grandparents. His grandmother worked in a bank and his grandfather sold furniture and insurance.

Emma

Although his grandparents earned a modest living, he was able to attend Punahou School, a top independent school in Hawaii.

Robbie

\His father wrote to him often, but only visited him once when he was 10 years old. His father died in 1983. His mother died in 1995.

Abby

President Obama went on to attend Columbia University in New York where he earned a degree in political science.

Blaise

A few years later he moved to Chicago to become the director of a group that worked to help the poor.

Victoria

Then he went back to school at Harvard University and became a lawyer in 1991. He became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.

William

After graduating he moved back to Chicago and began practicing civil-rights law helping with job fairness and voting rights.

Julia

In 1992, Barack Obama got married to Michelle Robinson. She was a lawyer, too.

Ronan

He began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. He felt a need to help people and decided to run for State Senator.

Mara

He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and served there for 8 years. His district included some of the poorest areas of the south side of Chicago.

Ryan

In 1998 Malia, his first daughter, was born. Sasha, his second daughter, was born in 2001.

Victoria

Sasha

In 2004, President Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing the state of Illinois in Washington, D.C.

Andrew

That same year, he gave a very exciting speech in Boston at the National Democratic Convention. This speech made him very well known around the country.

Jacqueline

In 2008 he was elected the first African-American president. While still a Chicago White Sox fan, he now lives with his family in Washington, D.C.

Markus

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/government/2008election/obamabio1.htm

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1682433/bio