Every project needs a creator. We thank Dawn Davis, editorial director of HarperCollins’s Amistad imprint, for having the vision to see this book and for bringing us together in this beautiful collaboration. Heather Hart, Christina Morgan, Jane Lusaka, Leslie Willis-Lowry, Hank Willis Thomas, Faith Childs, and Andrew Blauner provided invaluable support. The production team at HarperCollins worked gracefully under pressure.
We also thank Michel du Cille, the top photo editor at the Washington Post, for culling and sharing the wonderful work of the paper’s photography staff. Other Post friends and colleagues generously shared their thoughts about Obama and provided consultation during the writing and editing process. Notable among them are Peter Slevin, who offered a remarkable photo of enthusiastic Obama supporters from his personal collection, and Mike Fletcher. Thanks also to Sarah Lewis, the staff of the department of Photography and Imaging at NYU, Chris Bernstein, the Leica Gallery, Michael Shulmann, Rachelle Brown, Jeanne Moutoussamy Ashe, Katie Walker, and Jessica Martin.
Finally, and most important, we thank our families for their love and support: Kevin’s wife, Donna Britt, and sons, Skye, Darrell, and Hamani. We also are grateful to George and Doris Hill, Kevin’s pop and mom, for lifting us up and providing space at their home in Maryland to work on this project.