Roots *

This chapter tracks Barack Obama's childhood and collegiate years. It follows Obama's birth, less than eight months after John F. Kennedy's inauguration as the nation's thirty-sixth president. The chapter recounts how Obama left his adopted city of Chicago twenty-seven years later to attend Harvard Law School. Notwithstanding the love he received from his mother and grandparents, he often felt lonely and abandoned by both his parents. The chapter also looks at Obama's sensitivity to being biracial. Much of his young adult life was spent on a redemptive search for his roots and his own sense of racial identity. Although he left for Harvard still conflicted about issues of race, he no longer felt rootless. The chapter emphasizes Obama's clearly defined sense of purpose and confidence in his own ability to achieve the goals he set for himself.