Dreams from My Father

Chapter 7 & 8

Discussion Questions

What did you learn about Obama from reading Chapters 7 and 8? What was of most interest to you? What do you need more information about? What, if anything, was confusing to you?
Why do you think Obama chose to become a community organizer? What is the difference between his career choice and the choices his college friends make? Is this the type of career you would expect Obama to choose given his background and education?
Obama’s job as a community organizer elicits many different responses from the African-American elders in the New York and Chicago communities where Obama lives and works. Which responses are most interesting to you? Why? Why do you think Obama includes the responses of so many elders in Chapters 7 and 8, and does not include the responses of his mother and his grandparents?
What information and training does Marty offer before Obama begins his work as a community organizer, and how does that training differ from Marty’s own training ? How do Obama’s impressions of Marty change from the beginning of Chapter 7 to the end of Chapter 8? What descriptive language does Obama use to illustrate his interactions with Marty? Why does this language seem significant?
What does Obama call himself at the end of Chapter 8? What events in Chapters 7 and 8 lead him to use this word? When he reflects on these events, what conclusions does Obama reach about himself, and why are those significant?

Cultural and Historical References
	Ronald W. Reagan - p. 133 The fortieth President of the United States, Ronald Reagan (1611-2004) was elected on a Republican Party platform that promised a return to conservative values in the aftermath of the cultural and social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s.
	Harold Washington - p. 142 The first African-American mayor of Chicago, Illinois, Harold Washington held office from (1983-1987).
	Kwame Turé/Stokely Carmichael – p. 139 Chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s, Stokely Carmichael later moved to Guinea where he became involved in the Pan-African movement and took the name Kwame Turé.
	Richard J. Daley – p. 142 A powerful mayor of Chicago, Richard “Old Man” Daley (1902-1976 ) was elected to six four-year mayoral terms from 1955-1976.
	Edward Vrdolyak - p. 146 A Chicago alderman (equivalent to a City Council member), Edward Vrdolyak organized other alderman to effectively block much of Mayor Harold Washington’s agenda of social and political reform.
	Joe Louis and Schmeling - p. 148 In this 1938 boxing match African-American fighter Joe Louis beat German fighter Max Schmeling Louis’s victory was seen not only as the success of democracy over fascism, but also as a triumph for African-Americans during the era of Jim Crow segregation.
	Wisconsin Steel - p. 149 An important industrial plant on Chicago’s southeast side Wisconsin Steel closed suddenly in 1980.