On November 4, 2008 Senator Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. On January 20, 2009 Senator Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, making history as the first African-American to hold that position AP Photo
Becoming the United States first African American president, Obama reached out to those who follow Islam with a powerful speech. “A New Beginning” is the name of the speech President Obama delivered to the world’s 1.5 billion followers of Islam at Cairo University, Egypt in 2009. The speech fulfilled the promise Obama made during his presidential campaign to address Muslims, from a Muslim capital during his first few months as president. During his speech, Obama quoted from the Quran, the Talmud and the Bible. It’s stated that several times during the hour-long speech, audience members could be heard shouting, “We love you.” AP Photo
President Obama brought an end to the combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan that brought home more than 100,000 troops. U.S. troops took on more of aa supportive role in the Middle East during his terms. In 2014, Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria with expanded strikes in Iraq as part of “a steady, relentless effort” to root out Islamic State extremists AKA Isis. He also urged Congress anew to authorize a program to train and arm Syrian rebels who are fighting both the Islamic State militants and Syrian President Bashar Assad. Obama said his approach in Syria is modeled after those long-running U.S. counterterrorism campaigns AP Photo
March 23, 2010, President Obama signs the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare. The healthcare reform bill made health insurance more affordable and accessible to more Americans AP Photo
President Barack Obama chose appeal court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. As the first African American president, he has chosen as his first pick, the first Hispanic to be on the nation’s highest court. In 2016, Obama introduced Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, at the White House. Obama has accused Republicans of blocking Garland for political reasons. He noted that Garland follows his earlier nominations of Sonia Sotomayor, a Latina, and Elena Kagan, who is Jewish, to the high court AP Photo
May 1, 2011 President Barack Obama holds a televised press conference announcing to the world that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed during a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan AP Photo
For decades, Black farmers fought the United States Department of Agriculture over racial discrimination. President Obama signed the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, which allows the government to finally start cutting checks in the $1.2 billion settlement case known as “Pigford II.” The legislation will allow for about 80,000 blacks to settle claims expected to average $50,000. Critics have charged that the Pigford settlement and claim process is rife with fraud, and that some who alleged discrimination never attempted to farm or receive loan assistance from the USDA AP Photo
Barack Obama wins re-election as president of the United States against Republican challenger and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney AP Photo
May 9, 2012, President Obama becomes the first president to endorse same-sex marriage. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court made history ruling that same-sex couples can marry nationwide AP Photo
President Barack Obama, center, walks as he holds hands with Amelia Boynton Robinson, who was beaten during “Bloody Sunday,” as they and the first family and others including Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga,, left of Obama, walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. for the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday,” a landmark event of the civil rights movement, Saturday, March 7, 2015. From front left are Marian Robinson, Sasha Obama. first lady Michelle Obama. Obama, Boynton and Adelaide Sanford, also in wheelchair. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
December 16, 2012 President Obama gives a speech at the interfaith vigil in Newton, Connecticut in honor of the Sandy Hill Elementary School victims who died at the hand of gun violence AP Photo
In this Dec. 18, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at the morning plenary session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Obama administration took action to combat climate change. In June 2013, President Obama outlined the Climate Action Plan — his Administration took steps to cut carbon pollution, help prepare the United States for the impacts of climate change, and continue to lead international efforts to address global climate change AP Photo
During his presidency, Barack Obama has made it his mission for youth to gain access to college, closing the gaps between rich and poor; black and white. He has one of the highest U.S. high school graduation rates on record. The high school graduation rate rose during President Obama’s terms in office, growing by about four percentage points since the 2010-2011 school year. According to the White House, U.S. high school graduation rates for the 2014-2015 school year was the highest number on record at 83.2%. The graduation rate went up about 1 percentage point from the 2013-2014 school year which saw graduation rates at 82.3%. White students in the 2014-2015 year, saw a graduation rate of 87.6%, Black students 74.6%, Hispanic students 77.8% and American Indian/Alaska Native students 71.6%. AP Photo
On July 14, 2015, President Obama delivered a speech on the Iran Nuclear deal. The deal is seen as one of his biggest diplomatic achievements during his presidency AP Photo
December 17, 2017 President Obama announces his plans to reopen diplomatic relations with Cuba, relieve economic restrictions on the nation and allow some travel and trade AP Photo
April 18, 2013, President Obama gives a speech during the interfaith memorial service for the victims who were injured and killed by the Boston Marathon attack. The double bombing attack took place on April 15, 2013 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killing three people and injuring 264 AP Photo
First lady Michelle Obama, center, hugs former President George W. Bush, as President Barack Obama and former first lady Laura Bush walk on stage at the dedication ceremony of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 AP Photo
President Obama made it his duty to fix as much of the broken system which is immigration. During his presidency, his office took actions to help secure the border, prioritize felons, not families, and hold undocumented immigrants accountable by requiring them to pass a criminal background check and pay their fair share of taxes, and modernizes the legal immigration system. His efforts to streamline immigration have been met with much opposition. Recently, the Supreme Court took steps to block Obama’s plan to spare millions of immigrants in the country illegally from deportation in a split ruling that heartened political foes who had accused him of overstepping his powers AP Photo
