Obamas Parents
Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, is the son of a Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr and an American mother, Ann Dunham.
His parents met and married in Hawaii, where he was born in 1961.
They divorced when he was two, and his father returned to Kenya.
His mother remarried an Indonesian man, and they moved to Jakarta, where Obama spent four years of his childhood.
He later returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents.
This article explores the lives and backgrounds of Obama’s parents, and how they influenced his personal and professional development.
Barack Obama Sr.
Barack Obama Sr. was born in 1936 in Nyangoma-Kogelo, a village in western Kenya.
He belonged to the Luo ethnic group and was raised by his father, Hussein Onyango Obama, a cook for British colonists and a local leader.
He was one of the first Africans to receive a scholarship to study in the United States and enrolled at the University of Hawaii in 1959.
There, he met Ann Dunham, a white American student from Kansas, and they married in 1960.
They had one son, Barack Obama Jr., who was born in 1961.
Barack Obama Sr. was a brilliant and ambitious student, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hawaii, and a master’s degree from Harvard University.
He wanted to pursue a PhD but was denied further funding by the Kenyan government, which wanted him to return and serve his country.
He returned to Kenya in 1964, leaving behind his wife and son.
Barack Obama Sr. worked as an economist for the Kenyan government, and later for an oil company.
He also became involved in politics and was critical of the corruption and nepotism of the ruling elite.
He married three more times and had seven more children.
Barack Obama Sr. died in a car accident in Nairobi in 1982, at the age of 46.
Ann Dunham
Ann Dunham was born in 1942 in Wichita, Kansas.
She was the only child of Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, a furniture salesman and a bank vice president.
She grew up in various states and developed a curiosity and openness to different cultures and people.
Ann graduated from high school in Mercer Island, Washington, and moved to Hawaii with her parents in 1960.
There, she enrolled at the University of Hawaii and met Barack Obama Sr., a Kenyan student.
They married in 1960 and had one son, Barack Obama Jr., who was born in 1961.
Ann Dunham was a passionate and dedicated student, who earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Hawaii, and a master’s and a PhD from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
She specialized in the study of rural development and women’s issues in Indonesia, where she lived for several years with her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, and their daughter, Maya Soetoro.
She worked as a consultant for various organizations, such as:
Ann also taught at the University of Hawaii and the University of Indonesia.
She died of ovarian cancer in Honolulu in 1995, at the age of 52.
Conclusion
Obama’s parents were remarkable individuals from different continents, cultures, and backgrounds, and pursued their education and careers with excellence and integrity.
They also faced many challenges and hardships, such as racism, divorce, poverty, and illness.
They had a profound impact on their son, Barack Obama, who inherited their intelligence, charisma, and resilience, and who became the first African American president of the United States.
Obama’s parents are an inspiring example of the diversity and dynamism of American society and the potential and promise of the human spirit.
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