obama4 Young Barack Obama by Lisa Jack

Lisa Jack, then a student of photography at “Oxy,” sought a striking subject for a portrait project and was tipped off about a charismatic freshman named “Barry” Obama who would make an ideal subject. After the shoot, the negatives would remain locked away for the next 28 years. These photographs from 1980 offer a rare window back in time before the posters and before the campaign, when a 20-year-old young man was grappling with issues of self and purpose that would shape him to become the 44th President of the United States.