Written by Sage | February 5, 2026
On this day, in 1990, Barack Obama became the first African American president of a journal at a prestigious ivy league institution. His election was a significant milestone, reflecting change in the representation of African American leaders in the legal profession.
The ivy league institute: Harvard University.
The journal: Harvard Law Review, a student-run journal of legal scholarship.
Before his election, Obama achieved academic excellence. He showed a particular leadership style that set him apart from the rest and, in his first year, he competed in a writing competition.
Obama successfully navigated several steps and strategic challenges in order to be elected president of the Harvard Law Review.
Credit : Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
Founded in 1887, the Harvard Law Review is independent from the Harvard Law School and a board of student editors selected through an anonymous annual writing competition make all editorial decisions. https://harvardlawreview.org
