Barack Obama was the first African American president of the United States. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961 and served two terms from 2009 to 2017. He did many great things throughout his presidency and continues to be an inspiration to a lot of people. 

When Obama ran for president in 2008, the chant of his followers was “Yes We Can.” He inspired people to believe in him and in themselves. He believed that every person could make a positive difference in the world. His charismatic personality gave people hope which is why he became the President of the United States. 

In Obama’s first year of office, he signed the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”, which provided around 831 billion dollars into the growth of the economy and a surge in employment rates. He also made many decisions regarding many foreign countries. He ended the war in Iraq, increased the number of troops in Afghanistan, strengthened the U.S.’s bond with Israel, made relations with Cuba which made him the first president to visit Cuba since the Castro revolution, ordered the killing of Osama Bin Laden, encouraged the idea of the U.S. having economic ties (investments and trade) with Africa, and was the first sitting president that gave his respects to the victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Japan. In order to recognize what Obama did, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” 

Obama didn’t want to stop there. In 2010, he signed the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare, which provides affordable health care insurance for all Americans. With this act being put in place it covered an estimated 20 to 24 million more people.  

In 2013, Obama “filed briefs that urged the Supreme Court to rule in favor of same-sex marriage…” It was two years later on Jun. 26, 2015, that his efforts finally paid off when the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage to be a basic human right. 

Obama showed people that no matter what your background is, or where you come from, you can do anything that you put your mind to. To this day Obama works as an agent of change to bring hope to the world.