How Barack Obama Changed American History On November 4, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama made history as America's first African American president. But before the 69.4 million votes, before the "Yes We Can" speeches, there was a biracial kid from Hawaii who became a community organizer in Chicago's forgotten neighborhoods. This is the story of how a first-term senator with a "problematic" middle name defeated the Clinton political machine, raised $750 million in small donations, and used social medi