Ed. Note: This post is part of the Celebrating Black History Month series, which highlights African Americans from across the Administration whose work contributes to the President's goals for winning the future.
As United States Trade Representative, I am a member of President Obama's Cabinet and serve as the President's principal trade advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on trade issues. In this role, I have led the office in developing trade policies that are proactive, responsible, and more responsive to American 
families' interests – recognizing that trade can be a job-creating pillar of economic recovery in the United States and around the world.
My story begins in the south – the segregated south, to be specific. I was born in the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in Austin, Texas – an otherwise progressive city, but still a city that was segregated and lived by the rules of Jim Crow. When I was born, my parents could not vote. And like so many other black families throughout the south at the time, they were faced with literacy tests for “colored people.”
Fast forward a few decades and I was able to go to college, to get a law degree, and to launch and build a successful legal practice. Eventually, I had the privilege of serving as the Texas Secretary of State, appointed by Governor Ann Richards, in the same state that had once forced my parents to pay a poll tax. I went on to become the first African-American mayor of the City of Dallas, Texas. I was elected twice with support from communities of every size, shape, and color. And today I am the first African-American United States Trade Representative, appointed to serve in the Cabinet of the first African-American President of the United States. I credit all of this to my family, the strong guidance and wisdom I received from my parents, both of whom worked incredibly hard to ensure that I had a good education that led to greater opportunities.
Fonte: White House