The Obama Family Photos from the First Day of Their Trip to Africa
The Obama family is Africa this week, starting their three-country tour with a stop in the west coast nation of Senegal. There was an official presidential meeting and some talk of trade and democracy — and leaks, of course — but Day One of the journey was mostly one for sightseeing. Some fun and some somber. In addition, the usual parade of local culture and a visit to a school, the President visited Goree Island, touted as one of the historic focal points of the African slave trade. (There's some debate about the island's actual history with slavery, but it definitely has become a symbolic outpost and monument for those who visit.)
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It's such a momentous occasion, that it prompted Michelle Obama to join Instagram, and even post her first Insta-Video! (Naturally, the comments devolved into a debate about Pentagon spending.) So in the spirit of visual remembrance we'll stop boring you with words and share this gallery of their day in Senegal.
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"Meeting local artists on Goree Island. #FLOTUSinAfrica"
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President Barack Obama meets with a group of drummers that were playing music on his departure after taking a tour of Goree Island, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Goree Island, Senegal.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
People line the motorcade route of President Barack Obama on his way to meet with Senegalese President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Barack Obama waves as he poses for a picture alongside U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, second right, Senegalese President Macky Sall, right, and Senegalese First Lady Mariame Faye Sall, at the presidential palace in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Mariame Faye Sall, first lady of Senegal, visit in the Presidential Palace, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
From left, U.S. President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughter Malia Obama, mother in-law Marian Robinson, and niece Leslie Robinson take a tour of Goree Island with Eloi Coly, right, on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Goree Island, Senegal. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
A man wearing a t-shirt with the images of President Barack Obama and Senegalese President Macky Sall that says "Yes We Can Yaakaar", yaakaar meaning hope, stands outside the all-girls Martin Luther King Middle School during a visit by first lady Michelle Obama and Senegal's first lady Mariame Faye Sall, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Obama looks out prison cell window on Goree Island pic.twitter.com/2kJ9C1JLMm
— petesouza (@petesouza) June 27, 2013
A child waits to catch a glimpse of U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to Goree Island near Dakar, Senegal, June 27, 2013. Obama visited the island on Thursday where African slaves in past centuries were shipped west. REUTERS/Jason Reed (SENEGAL - Tags: POLITICS)
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama hugs her daughter Malia alongside Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama's mother, as they visit the Maison Des Ecslaves, the gathering point where slaves were shipped west in the 1700s and 1800s, at Goree Island near Dakar, Senegal, June 27, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed
President Obama holds a baby during his tour of Goree Island in Senegal Dakar. pic.twitter.com/VxyrsFiRp0
— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) June 27, 2013
