Barack Obama received his B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University. He spent five years working as a community organizer, first in Harlem, then in Chicago.

In 1988, Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School. There he served as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review and was a member of the Executive Board of the Black Law Students Association. He graduated Magna Cum Laude.

In 1992, Obama served as Illinois Executive Director of Project Vote!, an effort that added over 100,000 newly registered voters.

In 1993, Obama was named by Crain's Chicago Business as one of "40 under 40" outstanding young leaders in the city of Chicago. He is the recipient of the 1995 Legal Eagle Award from IVI-IPO for his work in bringing Illinois into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (Motor Vote). His commentaries have been heard on National Public Radio and his memoir, Dreams of My Father, was published by Random House in August, 1995.

In 2004, Obama was elected to the United States Senate from Illinois. He is the third African-American U.S. Senator since Reconstruction. In 2004, he gave a rousing and inspiring keynote speech at the Democratic Convention in Boston.

Obama worked as a civil rights attorney with the firm Davis, Miner, Barnhill and Galland. He specialized in employment discrimination, fair housing and voting rights litigation. He also lectured at the University of Chicago Law School, where he taught civil rights law and related subjects.

In addition, Obama serves on the boards of several organizations: including the Chicago Annenberg Center Challenge (Chairman), the Joyce Foundation, the Woods Fund of Chicago, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law and Public Allies. He is a member of the Cook County Bar Association.

Obama has decided to run for U.S. president in 2008. For an assortment of various articls discussing Obama in 2008 click here.

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