BBC Knowledge to take a closer look at the US president in Obama: His Story

In January 2009, America inaugurated its first black president. BBC correspondent, Clive Myrie looks at the life of Barack Obama to find out how he became arguably one of the most powerful men in the world in Obama: His Story on Wednesday, 7 November at 8pm WAT on BBC Knowledge, channel 184 on DStv.

Obama’s Kenyan alcoholic father left the family home in Hawaii when he was just two years old, leaving a little boy with nothing but his name. He was subsequently brought up by his grandparents, but found himself something of an outsider in Honolulu – being one of very few black children in his school. Myrie meets some of Obama’s school friends and teachers to find out what impact his background and race had on him as a teenager, and whether it might have laid the foundations for his meteoric rise to power.

As a young man, Obama moved to Chicago where he was suddenly no longer an outsider. Here, he worked as a community worker in the deprived suburbs of the city, where his experiences motivated him to seek elected office. After Chicago, Obama became a law student at Harvard and his leadership potential was recognised and he was elected as the first African-American President of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. So why did some of his fellow students consider him a “sell-out”?

Finally, Myrie visits Mary Beth Cahill, who made the crucial decision to give Obama the keynote speech at the Democratic Party Convention in 2004. The speech turned out to be the biggest turning point in his political career – setting him on the path that led to the White House and ultimately the most powerful leader in the world.

Obama: His Story will be broadcast on Wednesday, 7 November at 8pm WAT on BBC Knowledge, channel 184 on DStv.