Finding Purpose Together

Back to Level Two: Toward a More Perfect Union

Michelle Obama at Princeton University, 1980s. Courtesy of Michelle Obama. 

Michelle Obama's Princeton University graduation photograph, ca. 1985. Courtesy of Michelle Obama.

Michelle Robinson talks with a group of students in Chicago, IL, 1991. © Antonio Dickey.

Portrait of Michelle Obama, 1990s. Courtesy of Michelle Obama.

Barack Obama as a student at Harvard University, ca. 1992. Apic/Getty Images.

Barack Obama teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School, 2000s. The Obama Foundation.

Barack and Michelle Obama in Hawaii, 1990s. Courtesy of Maya Soetoro.

Wedding day, Barack and Michelle Obama, Chicago, IL, 1992. Courtesy of Michelle Obama.

Barack and Michelle Obama during Christmas holiday in Hawaii, 1990s. Courtesy of Maya Soetoro.

Event at the Barack Obama campaign headquarters on 71st street, 1996. © Marc PoKempner.

Michele Obama at Public Allies event, Chicago, IL, 1990s. Public Allies.

Obama teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL, 1990s. © Scott Goldsmith.

The Obama family, 2000s. Courtesy of Michelle Obama. 

Barack Obama with daughter Malia, ca. 2000. Courtesy of Maya Soetoro. 

Babies Malia and Sasha Obama, ca. 2001. Courtesy of Michelle Obama.

Barack and Michelle Obama aboard campaign bus, 2008. © Callie Shell.

Michelle and Barack Obama with daughters Sasha and Malia, Chicago, IL, 2006. © Annie Leibovitz. 

Barack Obama during his 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Campaign in 2004. © David Katz.

The Obama family on the front porch of their home in Chicago, IL, 2006. © Callie Shell.

The Obama family in their home in Chicago, IL, 2006. © Callie Shell. 

Michelle Obama at a podium, the Obama Foundation hosts an Election Night Celebration in Chicago, IL, 2023. The Obama Foundation.

President and Mrs. Obama join a roundtable discussion with Hyde Park Academy High School students at the Obama Foundation offices in Chicago IL, 2021. The Obama Foundation.

President and Mrs. Obama with an architectural model of the Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL, 2021. The Obama Foundation.

Event during the Democracy Forum, 2022. The Obama Foundation.

Mrs. Obama meets with members from the WOW Youth Guidance program at Hyde Park Academy in Chicago, IL, 2022. The Obama Foundation.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama greets former First Lady Michelle Obama as he arrives to speak on stage during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, Chicago, IL, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images.

“SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN” Music by STEPHEN MATTHEW PORTER (PRS) 100%, IPI 554949015; Published by PURPLE FOX APM (ASCAP) 100%, IPI 745983691; Courtesy of APM MUSIC.