Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Aunt Donna's Quick Candidate Bio
Barack Obama is the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois and the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee. Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced, his mother re-married and the family moved to Jakarta where Obama attended schools. In Jakarta, classes were taught in the Indonesian language. Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.
After high school, he 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. Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents. Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In February 1990, he was elected the first African–American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in 1991.
After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, he also taught at the University of Chicago Law School. He published an autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and he won a Grammy for the audio version of the book. Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996.
Obama decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, after winning with 70% of the vote to his opponents 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. He became the only African-American serving in the U.S. Senate (and the fifth in U.S. history). And only the third African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.
After high school, he 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. Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents. Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In February 1990, he was elected the first African–American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in 1991.
After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, he also taught at the University of Chicago Law School. He published an autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and he won a Grammy for the audio version of the book. Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996.
Obama decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, after winning with 70% of the vote to his opponents 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. He became the only African-American serving in the U.S. Senate (and the fifth in U.S. history). And only the third African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.
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