| FEBRUARY IS AFRICAN
AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
"Barack
Obama is the forty-fourth president of the United States and the
first African American to hold that office. A Democratic senator
from Illinois at the time of his election in November of 2008, Obama
prevailed after a grueling primary season against his chief Democratic
rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, and a hard-fought presidential campaign
against the Republican candidate, Senator John McCain. Obama electrified
voters during campaign appearances with a unifying message of hope
and an ambitious agenda of change that included ending the war in
Iraq and extending affordable health care to all Americans. In his
inaugural address on January 20, 2009, he proclaimed: "On this
day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose
over conflict and discord.... The time has come to reaffirm our
enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward
that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to
generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free,
and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.'"
Source: "Barack Obama." Contemporary
Black Biography. Vol. 74. Gale, 2009. Biography Resource Center.
Web. 29 January 2010.
"Michelle Obama, the one-time vice president
of community and external affairs for the University of Chicago
(UC) Hospitals, was thrust into the media spotlight in 2007 when
her husband, U.S. Senator Barack Obama, launched his bid for the
Democratic Party's presidential nomination. A graduate of Harvard
Law School, Obama was among her husband's closest advisors. Many
observers believed her to be a powerful asset to her husband's campaign.
Those high opinions were confirmed when, in January 2009, Obama
became the nation's First Lady upon her husband's inauguration as
President of the United States."
Source: "Michelle Obama." Contemporary
Black Biography. Vol. 61. Gale, 2007. Biography Resource Center.
Web. 29 January 2010.
The St. Augustine Campus Library is featuring
web sites and works available at the SJRCC
Libraries about Barack and Michelle Obama, America's historic President
and First Lady.
Each
month the library features a topic or person. Check
out past features.
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