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Evolution of a president: Barack Obama and race In his unique role as the first black commander in chief, President Obama has faced a delicate balancing act.
When Obama gave his Election Day victory speech in Chicago's Grant Park in 2008, his family accompanied him onstage.
Nikki Kahn
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The Washington Post
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Sasha flashed an encouraging sign to her father before his inauguration in 2009.
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During his time in office, Obama has sought to connect with African Americans while staying true to his own style and voice.
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Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With" depicts Ruby Bridges being escorted to class on the court-ordered first day of integrated schools in New Orleans in 1960. Obama invited Bridges to view the painting on display outside the Oval Office.
Pete Souza
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Obama, meeting Mosiah-Sekou Shields in the Oval Office, repeats that the boy is 2 years old. “He knows that a lot of young black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American children will grow up thinking it’s perfectly normal for the president of the United States to be African American,” senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said.
Bill O'Leary
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The Washington Post
After weighing in the arrest of black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. in 2009 and saying that "police acted stupidly," Obama clarified his remarks at a daily news briefing, and he later convened a "beer summit" for the arresting officer and Gates in the Rose Garden.
Kristoffer Tripplaar
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Pool/Getty Images
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., left, Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge, Mass., police department and Obama hoist their glasses during the "beer summit" in 2009 at the White House.
The White House
Poet Sonia Sanchez and Princeton professor Cornel West meet with Obama at the 100th anniversary of the National Urban League. Obama told an audience at the event in Washington that he regretted how the administration handled an incident involving Shirley Sherrod. Sherrod, a black Agriculture Department official, was forced to resign over comments about white farmers that were taken out of context.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais
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AP
In a moment that has become iconic of his presidency, Obama leans down to let Jacob Philadelphia, then 5, touch his hair. The boy had asked in 2009 if the president's hair felt like his.
Pete Souza
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White House
Obama frequently embraces a connection with Martin Luther King Jr., quoting from him in speeches or citing his writings in private meetings with civil rights activists.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Obama has grown accustomed to speaking in venues with overflow crowds.
Nikki Kahn
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The Washington Post
When Obama sought Americans' support to rebuild Haiti after its 2010 earthquake disaster, he called on former presidents George W. Bush, left, and Bill Clinton.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Shirley Sherrod and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack leave a news conference after her controversial departure from the agency. Sherrod, who met with Obama after she was forced to resign, later wrote that she worries that a president once thought by many to transcend race was actually “terrified” by it.
Mark Wilson
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Getty Images
Obama supporters reach out to him in Denver, where he recently attended a reelection event.
Nikki Kahn
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The Washington Post
“Obama’s great strength, which has been very real, is that he comes across as a nice man, without regard to race,” former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R) said. Here, Obama greets a supporter in Denver.
Nikki Kahn
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The Washington Post
With an eye toward Election Day, Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson wonders whether the black president will deliver for blacks. “If not now, when?” Johnson asked. “If not Obama, then who?”
Nikki Kahn
/
The Washington Post
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Section:/politics/decision2012
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