Chicago, 1980s-present

Chicago is at the heart of this memoir. Many people associate Barack Obama with Chicago, where he got his start in politics. In the memoir, Chicago is the place Obama selects as the ground for his African American identity. Chicago has a central place in African American history because of its substantial African American population and important figures like Harold Washington, whose political success is a template for black politicians with national aspirations.

As Obama interacted with black Chicagoans, he learns about the individual stories of African Americans who lived through important eras of African American history such as the Great Migration and the Civil Rights Movement. Obama also has the chance to explore the aftermath of those movements, including the unfortunate impact of drug culture, defunding of programs designed to support urban renewal, and both white and middle-class flight from these urban problems. The Chicago...