Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

As he nears graduation, Obama decides to be a community organizer in the African-American community. His desire to become an organizer is rooted in idealized notions of the American civil rights movement and the possibility that the work and sacrifice required to become an organizer will create a place for him in the African-American community.

Obama applies to many civil-rights organizations for work as graduation nears, but no one responds at first. Obama eventually receives a job as a research assistant for a multinational corporation. Obama is promoted to financial writer and begins to forget about his dreams until his sister Auma cancels a trip to visit him after their brother David dies unexpectedly. The pain in her voice and Obama's muted reaction to the death remind him of how disconnected he is from any community.

Obama quits his job and finds a job with a civil rights organization focused on public-private partnerships. Unsatisfied with still being so closely connected to corporate work, Obama takes a job working on a political campaign. However, Obama's financial difficulties and his disillusionment with the poor way activists treat each other as they argue over politics nearly end his plans to become a community organizer.