President Elect, Barack Obama, D-Ill.
Speaks during the ground breaking
ceremony for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in
Washington, Monday, Nov. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Lawrence
Jackson)
Powerful Video About a Barack Obama Presidency
Barack Obama, Harlem New York, Nov. 29th 2007 Part 1
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Barack Obama, Harlem New York, Nov. 29th 2007 Part 2
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. His father,
Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, where he grew
up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British.
Barack’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. Her father worked
on oil rigs during the Depression, and then signed up for World War II after
Pearl Harbor, where he marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Her mother went
to work on a bomber assembly line, and after the war, they studied on the G.I.
Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved west to
Hawaii.
It was there, at the University of Hawaii, where Barack’s parents met. His
mother was a student, and his father had won a scholarship that allowed him to
leave Kenya and pursue his dreams in America.
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Barack’s father eventually returned to Kenya, and Barack grew up with his
mother in Hawaii, and for a few years in Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York,
where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983.
Remembering the values of empathy and service that his mother taught him,
Barak put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to
Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer with a church-based group
seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime
and high unemployment.
The group had some success, but Barack had come to realize that in order to
truly improve the lives of people in that community and other communities, he
needed the skills that only a more professional education could offer.
He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where he became the
first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Soon after, he
returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer and teach
constitutional law. Finally, his advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois
State Senate, where he served for seven years.
In 2003, Barack launched his improbable race for the United States Senate.
Even with many primary contenders, an imported Republican challenger and a
budget six times smaller than his opponent’s, Barack won a landslide victory.
Even then, he stood out alone among the major candidates, opposing the war in
Iraq.
As a US Senator,
Barack has continued to work on the issues that represent the ideals and
aspirations of so many. He’s helped pass major measures that combat the
international trafficking of nuclear weapons, promote the use of alternative
fuels, and open up the budget process to greater public scrutiny. In all of
these efforts, he’s brought Democrats and Republicans together for the common
good.
Above all his accomplishments and experiences, Barack is most proud and
grateful for his family. His wife, Michelle, and his two daughters, Malia, 8,
and Sasha, 5, live on Chicago’s South Side where they attend Trinity United
Church of Christ.
The
Obama Time Capsule: World History in the Making
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Amazon
THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE showcases one of the most important
presidential races in American history through the eyes of the
world's top photographers. Spanning a two-year period, the book
provides behind-the-scenes images encompassing President Barack
Obama's road to the White House, Election Day, the Inauguration
and his first 100 days in office. Including essays from TIME
magazine's Joe Klein, The Huffington Post's Arianna Huffington,
General Colin Powell and President Obama's sister, Auma Obama.
The book also includes fascinating infographics from
world-renowned graphic artist Nigel Holmes, the human stories
featured in this fascinating book capture the challenges and
opportunities facing America's 44th president as he takes his
place on the world stage.
THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE also offers a groundbreaking new feature:
After you answer a few simple questions and upload your own
photos to the publisher's website, a personalized copy of the
book will be created just for you, seamlessly weaving President
Obama's extraordinary journey together with your name, your
photos and your thoughts.
6 Fun Ways to Personalize Your Book
Personalizing your book enables you to weave President Obama's
journey with yours in numerous locations throughout the book. A
step-by-step guide walks you through the fun and easy steps.
Your Name on the Front Cover
You can add your name on the front cover of the book and on
the title page as one of the authors. Of course, you also
have the option of creating a personalized book as a gift
for family members and friends.
Your Photo on the Back Cover
Preserve this moment in history forever by adding a photo of
yourself, your family, a group of friends, or an event (Go
Obama!) on the back cover of this extraordinary book. Upload
a favorite digital photo, and in seconds the publisher’s
website will show you what your image will look like on the
back cover.
Personalized Dedication
THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE includes a Dedication page, which
allows you to inscribe the book to someone special. You can
also add a personal Dedication message. For example, you
might want to write about what the election meant to you or
why you've made a personalized edition of the book in
someone's honor.
Your Name on the Inaugural Invitation Page
Whether you were invited to the Inauguration or watched it
from afar, you can enjoy seeing your name engraved on the
book's Inaugural Invitation page.
Your Photo on the Celebrity Supporters Page
Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce
Springsteen, and many other celebrities helped get the word
out to support the Obama campaign. Your photo and name can
be right next to them on the Celebrity Supporters page.
Your Child's Artwork on the Kids for Obama Page
Did your child draw pictures of Obama for a school project?
Even if not, it's not too late. Get out the crayons and have
him or her draw a picture of the First Family, then scan and
upload the drawing. Your child's artwork will be preserved
forever when you add it to this heartwarming page.
by Charisse Carney-Nunes, Illustrated by Ann Marie
Williams
Hardcover: 36 pages
Publisher: Brand Nu Words (April 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0974814245
ISBN-13: 978-0974814247
Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
I Am Barack Obama is not a book about Barack Obama. Rather,
it allows children to see themselves through the inspirational
story of President Obama growing up as an ordinary child asking,
Who will change the world? Ultimately, he realizes that he will.
I Am Barack Obama is also the first children's digibook
available interactively along with its companion print edition.
The
Greatest Gift I Could Offer: Quotations from Barack Obama on
Parenting and Family
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Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade (April 7, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425231402
ISBN-13: 978-0425231401
Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches
Words of wisdom on raising a family, from President Barack
Obama.
Barack Obama’s eloquent words have inspired many. Here, in the
only collection of its kind, are his thoughts on parenting and
family. Each of his quotes is set in a context of insightful
background on Obama’s family experiences—a child of divorce,
raised by a single mother, woven into a blended family, reared
for years by his grandparents, then going on to embrace his
multi-racial roots and blood relatives—and how each of these
experiences helped to shape the choices he made in starting his
own family.
Distinguished by its selection of photos of President Obama in
casual family settings, this is an inspiring keepsake and a
wonderful gift for baby showers and birthdays—as well as for the
first Mother’s Day and Father’s Day that Obama will be in
office.
Barack Obama: The
Man and His Journey
Click to order via
Amazon
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD
formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Rating: Nit Rated
Studio: Vivendi Entertainment
DVD Release Date: January 20, 2009
Run Time: 80 minutes
Share the incredible, inspirational story of President Barack
Obama , the 44th President of the United States. See how one
man inspired us with the refrain Yes We Can! In this defining
moment, America has proven once again that her story is
constantly evolving towards greater freedom and justice for
all.
Free Digital Download of Exclusive Brian McKnight song.
"A government that truly represents these Americans--that truly serves these
Americans--will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to
reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won’t be pre-packaged, ready to
pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our
traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will
need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions
and tribal hatreds. And we’ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our
differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that
will not break." from The Audacity of Hope
In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention
with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One
phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for
all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have
always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama
called "the audacity of hope."
Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of
politics -- a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by
the "endless clash of armies" we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a
politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart
of "our improbable experiment in democracy." He explores those forces -- from
the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the
media -- that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes,
with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a
senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and
his own deepening religious commitment.
At the heart of this book is Senator Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond
our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic
insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the
body politic, and the transnational threats -- from terrorism to pandemic --
that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in
a democracy -- where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his
stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a
vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political
consensus.
A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic,
and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a
book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth
to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is
broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously
out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there,
he writes --- "waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them."
Dreams
from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Click to order via Amazon
ISBN: 1400082773
Pub. Date: August 2004
Format: Paperback, 480pp
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black
African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to
his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns
that his father-a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man-has been killed
in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey-first to a
small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother's
family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his
family, confronts the bitter truth of his father's life, and at last reconciles
his divided inheritance.
Obama:
From Promise to Power
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Book Description
David Mendell has covered Obama since the beginning of his campaign for
the Senate and as a result enjoys far–reaching access to the new
Senator––both his professional and personal life. He uses this access to
paint a very intimate portrait of Obama and his life pre and post
Senate, including Obama's new status as a sex symbol now that going into
a crowd to shake hands with constituents carries the added concern of
being groped by women, and the toll this has had on his marriage.
Mendell also describes the dirty tactics sanctioned by Obama––who has
steeped his image and reputation on the ideals of clean politics and
good government –– to win his Senate seat by employing David Axelrod, a
Chicago–based political consultant (consultant to the John Edwards's
campaign) with what the author describes as "an appetite for the Big
Kill."
Mendell also positions Barack Obama as in fact the Savior of a
fumbling Democratic party, who is potentially orchestrating a career in
Senate to guarantee him at the very least a vice presidential nod, if
not a nod for the top job in 2008. The dream ticket would be Hilary
Clinton–Barack Obama given his reception at the Democratic National
Convention in 2004. Because he enjoys popularity among Whites
(particularly suburban White women) and Blacks, it might not be such a
far–fetched idea.
About the Author David Mendell, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, began writing about urban
issues and politics for the Chicago Tribune in 1998. During his
eight-year tenure at the Tribune, Mendell has also covered breaking
national news including the Columbine High School shootings and the
Seattle riots spurred by meetings of the World Trade Organization. He
lives in Oak Park, Illinois.
A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited about
Obama And Why He Can’t Win
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In Shelby Steele's beautifully
wrought and thought provoking new book, A Bound Man, the award-winning
and bestselling author of The Content of Our Character attests that
Senator Barack Obama's groundbreaking quest for the highest office in
the land is fast becoming a galvanizing occasion beyond mere
presidential politics, one that is forcing a national dialogue on the
current state of race relations in America. Says Steele, poverty and
inequality usually are the focus of such dialogues, but Obama's bid for
so high an office pushes the conversation to a more abstract level where
race is a politics of guilt and innocence generated by our painful
racial history -- a kind of morality play between (and within) the races
in which innocence is power and guilt is impotence.
Steele writes of how Obama is
caught between the two classic postures that blacks have always used to
make their way in the white American mainstream: bargaining and
challenging. Bargainers strike a "bargain" with white America in which
they say, I will not rub America's ugly history of racism in your face
if you will not hold my race against me. Challengers do the opposite of
bargainers. They charge whites with inherent racism and then demand that
they prove themselves innocent by supporting black-friendly policies
like affirmative action and diversity.
Steele maintains that Senator
Obama is too constrained by these elaborate politics to find his own
true political voice. Obama has the temperament, intelligence, and
background -- an interracial family, a sterling education -- to guide
America beyond the exhausted racial politics that now prevail. And yet
he is a Promethean figure, a bound man.
Says Steele, Americans are
constrained by a racial correctness so totalitarian that we are afraid
even to privately ask ourselves what we think about racial matters. Like
Obama, most of us find it easier to program ourselves for correctness
rather than risk knowing and expressing what we truly feel. Obama
emerges as a kind of Everyman in whom we can see our own struggle to
accept and honor what we honestly feel about race. In A Bound Man,
Steele makes clear the precise constellation of forces that bind Senator
Obama, and proposes a way for him to break these bonds and find his own
voice. The courage to trust in one's own careful judgment is the new
racial progress, the "way out" from the forces that now bind us all.
Renegade:
The Making of a President
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Amazon
by Richard Wolffe
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Crown (June 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307463125
ISBN-13: 978-0307463128
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
Before the White House and Air Force One, before the TV ads and the
enormous rallies, there was the real Barack Obama: a man wrestling with
the momentous decision to run for the presidency, feeling torn about
leaving behind a young family, and figuring out how to win the biggest
prize in politics.
This book is the previously untold and epic story of how a political
newcomer with no money and an alien name grew into the world’s most
powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the
person behind the iconic posters and the Secret Service code name
Renegade.
Drawing on a dozen unplugged interviews with the candidate and
president, as well as twenty-one months covering his campaign as it
traveled from coast to coast, Richard Wolffe answers the simple yet
enduring question about Barack Obama: Who is he?
Based on Wolffe’s unprecedented access to Obama, Renegade reveals
the making of a president, both on the campaign trail and before he ran
for high office. It explains how the politician who emerged in an
extraordinary election learned the personal and political skills to
succeed during his youth and early career. With cool self-discipline,
calculated risk taking, and simple storytelling, Obama developed the
strategies he would need to survive the onslaught of the Clintons and
John McCain, and build a multimillion-dollar machine to win a historic
contest.
In Renegade, Richard Wolffe shares with us his front-row seat at
Obama’s announcement to run for president on a frigid day in
Springfield, and his victory speech on a warm night in Chicago. We fly
on the candidate’s plane and ride in his bus on an odyssey across a
country in crisis; stand next to him at a bar on the night he secures
the nomination; and are backstage as he delivers his convention speech
to a stadium crowd and a transfixed national audience. From a teacher’s
office in Iowa to the Oval Office in Washington, we see and hear Barack
Obama with an immediacy and honesty never witnessed before.
Renegade provides not only an account of Obama’s triumphs, but
also examines his many personal and political trials. We see Obama
wrestling with race and politics, as well as his former pastor Reverend
Jeremiah Wright. We see him struggling with life as a presidential
candidate, a campaign that falters for most of its first year, and his
reaction to a surprise defeat in the New Hampshire primary. And we see
him relying on his personal experience, as well as meticulous polling,
to pass the presidential test in foreign and economic affairs.
Renegade is an essential guide to understanding President Barack
Obama and his trusted inner circle of aides and friends. It is also a
riveting and enlightening first draft of history and political
psychology.
A collection of letters written by African American women
to Michelle Obama.
"You are me. When I look at you, I see me. I see the young
African American woman who, through good family values,
strong roots, hard work, and perseverance, has come into her
own ... Though your journey may not be easy in the coming
days, weeks, months, or years, think of us to ease your
burden and pain. Think of those who you inspire. Think of
those who you have given hope to. Think of those whom you
have filled with pride. Think of your sister ... Think of
your favorite cousin. Think of your mother. Think of me. We
are the same."
"To you Michelle I take off my African woman hat from
Cameroon, my motherland. You have given us African women the
courage and the hope to move on and up. You keep your head
high and hold your husband close to your heart. Keep praying
my sister, you are the best. You have lived the dream of
every ebony woman. Ride on sister, we are with you."
"You are the song, you are the proverb, and you are the
symbol of human dignity."
"When you and your family go to the spot under the shadow of
the Lincoln Memorial, where Barack Obama will be sworn in as
the 44th President of the United States, you will take with
you our history of dreams deferred; however, you will also
take with you our prayers and hopes for an America that is
ready to build and dream anew."
"Thank you for your courage to say yes, to step from behind
your private veil into the public eye, to step forward with
the grace of boldness, to carry a message that `Hope is a
wise decision' and also teaching the importance of learning
to prepare oneself because with hope, things can change. I
sat next to my daughter, praying that all women would tell
this message to themselves, their daughters and sisters,
nieces and neighbors, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, friends
and sisterfriends, strangers and mates. But most of all, I
thank you from the bottom of my heart to remind me to keep
being hopeful so I can keep flapping my wings and not be
afraid to fly."
"What I really want to say is thank you for existing and
remaining visually the kind of woman I've always wanted to
be. I'd given up hope. I'd given up hope that Black men
could affectionately and passionately adore a woman publicly
the way that your old man adores you. I'd given up hope that
I'd get to keep my booty and succeed in the commercial
production world of NYC. I honestly didn't believe I'd be
able to be intelligent and sexy at the same time and be
taken seriously ... You two have revolutionized what I
believe to be possible in Black life. Black, young, sexy,
beautiful, brilliant, and powerful. How marvelous."
"We are one woman, blessed to be born Black in America ... I
rejoice for every little girl, every teenager, young adult
and yes even every senior, who like me, can look at you and
see herself. I rejoice for the mothers who loved their
children as much as you and I do, yet could not protect
them."
"Thank you for making me reconsider bringing my Black babies
into this world."
Passionate, shattering, and tender, this astonishing book
gathers together letters to Michelle Obama, written by
African American and African women. Shortly after the
election, the Uncrowned Queens Institute in Buffalo, New
York, sent out a call across the country for African
American women to share their hopes, fears, and advice with
the new First Lady. Hundreds of letters and poems poured in,
signaling both an unprecedented moment in our nation's
history and a remarkable opportunity for African American
women to look at the White House and see and speak to one of
their own there.
These very personal letters and poems, written by African
American women from all ages and walks of life, celebrate a
newfound hope for our world and children, speak to a strong
sisterhood with the First Lady, confess often very private
fears and dreams, and acknowledge and remember the
generations before who endured so much for so long.
Michelle
Obama: Meet the First Lady
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by David Bergen Brophy
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Collins (January 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061779911
ISBN-13: 978-0061779916
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
Michelle obama has been by her husband's side throughout
his historic presidential campaign, a dynamic personality
whether she is delivering speeches or hitting the dance
floor on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Follow the story of a hardworking girl growing up on the
South Side of Chicago and how she has inspired our nation to
believe in the American Dream that her life exemplifies. In
her own stirring words: America should be a place where you
can make it if you try.
Written by David Bergen Brophy, this in-depth biography
captures the heart and soul of the First Lady behind the
campaign for change.
Michelle
Obama: First Lady of Hope Click to order via
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by Elizabeth Lightfoot
Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: The Lyons Press (December 11, 2008)
Language: English ISBN-10: 1599215217 ISBN-13: 978-1599215211
There is no one quite like her. Michelle Obama. This is the
first book to tell the astonishing story of a woman whose
intellect, verbal flair, and poise are certain to make her one
of the most influential First Ladies in history. A woman whose
remark, “For the first time in my adult life I am really proud
of my country,” did her husband’s campaign no good. A woman
whose impassioned speech to the Democratic National Convention
may have helped win him the Oval Office. A woman touted as a
future presidential candidate herself.
Readers are given a revealing and intimate look at Michelle
Obama’s remarkable life—from her Chicago childhood to her
education at Princeton and Harvard, from how she first met
Barack Obama at the prestigious law firm where they were the
only African-Americans, to her role as his closest adviser, and
to her own political beliefs. For Michelle, family comes first,
and—like so many women who struggle between family and
career—she seriously weighed her husband’s presidential
ambitions before giving her stamp of approval. Apparently she
struck a hard bargain: he had to give up smoking.
As a US Senator,
The
Obama 
I am Barack
Obama
The
Greatest Gift I Could Offer: Quotations from Barack Obama on
Parenting and Family
Barack Obama: The
Man and His Journey
The
Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Dreams
from My Father
Obama:
From Promise to Power 
A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited about
Renegade:
The Making of a President
Go,
Tell Michelle: African-American Women Write to the New First
Lady
Michelle
Obama: Meet the First Lady
Michelle
Obama: First Lady of Hope