| On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will celebrate the 250 year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Many events that involved or affected Black Americans may or may not be mentioned or spotlighted in mainstream America. With that in mind, the What We Need to Know Newsletter began featuring BLACK AMERICA 250. We will devote the next year to highlighting events that took place in our community over the last 250 years. It may be the birth of a significant individual or an event that took place between now and July 4, 2026. It may not have happened on the exact day that you are reading the newsletter, but it will be close enough, and more importantly, significant to our history. For example, today we will highlight the birth of the country’s first African American President. Happy Birthday to President Barack Obama! Barack Hussein Obama II was born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to parents Barack H. Obama, Sr., and Stanley Ann Dunham. His parents divorced when he was 2 years old and he was raised by his mother, Ann, and maternal grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham. His mother later married Lolo Soetoro, and his sister Maya was born in 1970. (He also has several siblings on his father’s side.) Obama moved with his family to Indonesia in 1967, where he attended local Indonesian schools and received additional lessons via U.S. correspondence courses under his mother’s direction. He returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents in 1971 and attended Punahou School, from which he graduated in 1979. Obama first attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, before transferring to Columbia University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1983. After graduation, Obama briefly worked as an analyst at Business International Corporation in New York City, before changing his career direction toward community service organizing. He relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1985 when he accepted a job with the Developing Communities Project. Eventually rising to the role of Director, Obama worked with low-income communities on Chicago’s South Side, often collaborating with local religious organizations and civic groups. After three years of community organizing, Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School. After completing his first year, he worked as a summer associate at Chicago corporate law firm of Sidley & Austin, where his mentor was Michelle Robinson, his future wife. READ MORE> |
