President Obama signed several executive orders in his first week in office including an order intended to improve intelligence gathering, an order to close down the detention center/prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and orders on car emissions and fuel efficiency standards.
President Obama signs his first bill in office, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on January 29. The bill ensures that women across the country receive equal pay for equal work. Ledbetter (center left0 fought to get back wages when she learned she had been paid less than her male counterparts.
In a controversial move, President Obama, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood (left), Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, and former Deputy Labor Secretary Edward Montgomery announce plans on dealing with the auto industry crisis by naming Montgomery as the new director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.
“The great jazz musician, Louis Armstrong, once said simply, ‘What we play is life.’ And that is what these artists do—they express the joys and hardships of life,” said President Obama at the first-ever Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word in the White House on May 12.
President Barack Obama delivered commencement speeches at Arizona State University and the University of Notre Dame in May, but not without hiccups as some protested his pro-choice stance. Nonetheless, the President shared a message on the importance of being open minded and tolerant of others’ opinions.
The President enjoyed a tour of the Sphinx and pyramids outside of Cairo, Egypt during his one-day visit on June 4, 2009. Earlier he gave a speech at Cairo University about a “new beginning between the United States and Muslims,” and declared that “this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.”
“In my country, African-Americans have thrived in every sector of society. We’ve done so despite a difficult past, and we have drawn strength from our African heritage,” said President Obama during his address to the Ghanaian Parliament on July 11. The First Family also toured the Cape Coast Castle and learned about the trans-Atlantic slave trade.