A Promised Land

Chapter 1 focuses on Obama’s early life and formative years. The chapter opens with Obama’s recollections of living at the White House, notably, walking along the West Colonnade to get to and from the Oval Office. Obama describes his upbringing, stressing the positive influence of his maternal grandparents and mother, Ann Dunham. From the time Obama was young, Dunham stressed the importance of the civil rights movement, decried the Vietnam War, promoted the women’s rights movement, and supported the war on poverty. Barack Obama Sr., a Kenyan economist, was largely absent from his son’s life.

Obama describes his transformation from lackadaisical student to politically engaged Harvard law graduate. His awakening to his mixed-race identity, which coincided with his growing awareness of class distinctions, began in high school. His political awareness, however, did not begin until he attended Occidental College. Before then, he dismissed representative politics as rigged and focused on social movements led by ordinary people, like his mother. Obama became more serious about his studies after transferring to Columbia University, graduating with a degree in political science and international relations. He spent the following years as a community organizer in Chicago, where he observed the political maneuverings of Harold Washington, the city’s first Black mayor.