Former President Barack Obama took to Instagram on Friday to congratulate Jacob Philadelphia, the boy who famously touched Obama’s head in an iconic 2009 White House photo, on his high school graduation.
Philadelphia, the son of then-National Security Council staffer Carlton Philadelphia, was 5 years old when he visited the Oval Office and asked Obama, “Is your hair like mine?” Obama then bent down and told him to touch his head. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’ve got,” Obama recalled Philadelphia saying.
The moment was captured by White House photographer Pete Souza, and the photo, which Souza later named “Hair Like Mine,” was celebrated for highlighting the importance of representation.
Obama reconnected with Philadelphia on Zoom before the now-teenager’s graduation from the International School of Uganda.
Philadelphia, whose father later joined the State Department, told the former President he plans to attend University of Memphis and will study political science.
“I think the White House visit clearly inspired you, I hope,” Obama said in the video.
“Yes. It really has,” Philadelphia replied.
In the Instagram video, Obama also reflected on the iconic 2009 image, which hung in the West Wing for years during his presidency, the video noted.
“I think this picture embodied one of the hopes that I’d had when I first started running for office,” Obama said.
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