This post I want to talk about the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.
Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii, and this is where Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961. Barack's first name means blessed in Swahili, an African language. Barack was his fathers name, too. But neither of the baby's parents called him Barack. He was always Barry. Barry's father was from Kenya, a country in Africa. He came to Hawaii to study at the University of Hawaii. He met a girl who was eighteen-years-old who was a student there. She lived with her parents in Honolulu. She was named Stanley Ann Dunham. Her name was Stanley because that was her fathers name and he was hoping for a boy. So he had named his only child Stanley. She was known as Ann to her friends. Ann and Barack met, fell in love, and got married. This happened in 1961, Ann was white and Barack was black. Back then very few people decided to marry each other if they were of different races. In some states it was illegal! Ann's parents were fairly open-minded. They accepted their new son-in-law, he was smart and interesting. They adored their chubby baby grandson. Little Barry grew up calling them Gramps and Toots. [In Hawaiian, tutu meant grandmother.] Many people have brown skin in Hawaii so Barry didn't look or feel any different. When Barry was two, his parents split up. It happened because his father wanted to study at Harvard University in Massachusetts wich is over 5,000 miles away from Hawaii. Barry was ten years old before he saw his father again. Of course he had photos and stories but it wasn't enough. In 1967, Barry's mother married someone named Lolo Soetoro. [In Hawaiian slang, the word lolo means crazy-Gramps thought that was a riot.] He and Ann met at the University of Hawaii. Little Barry liked Lolo right away. When he moved back to Indonesia Ann and Barry went with him. It was a great adventure for a six-year-old boy to live in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Barry got a pet, not a kitten and not a puppy. Lolo had gotten Barry a small ape named Tata. There were chickens and ducks living in their yard and even alligators, also. Barry also got a baby sister. Her name was Maya and she was born on August 15,1970. Barry had gone to a local public school for about two years and then to a Catholic school. In first grade, Barry wrote he wanted to be president when he grew up. Of course alot of kids wanted to, but in Barry's case it really came true! Today, tour buses stop at the schools where he went and pass the small house where his family lived. Barry's mother was a teacher now. Lolo was a busnisman. He was a good stepfather. Lolo thoght of Barry as his very own son. Ann taught Barry English and World History. She wanted him to know about the black civil rights movement. She told him about civil rights leaders, like Martin Luther King, Jr. Barry found out that his father was coming to visit. People thought that his dad was cool. I hope you liked hearing about Barack Obama's childhood, see you next time.
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