The Obama generation: Voters give their verdict eight years on

Barack Obama is preparing to leave office, bringing to an end his eight years as president of the United States.

He was elected in 2008 with high levels of support from young, black Americans.

Newsbeat has travelled across the US to meet some of those who voted for him.

They give their verdict on Obama's achievements - Obama's changes to the healthcare system and handling of the economic crisis are seen as key parts of his legacy.

They also discuss the things he failed to deliver.

So what about the rise in racial tension?

In the last year police shootings of unarmed black men have sparked protests in cities across the US.

Emanuel Joseph, who grew up on the southside of Chicago, thinks these problems are part of a wider issue in poor black communities in the US.

"Towards the end of his term he's being a little more vocal on these issues," he says.

"But I think it would have been more impactful had he done it when he had a little bit more on the line."

Obama came to power promising a new era of "hope" for young Americans - did he deliver?

Did Obama's focus on gay rights mean a lack of progress elsewhere?

"I think that this president and his administration have worked very hard and very diligently in the LGBT community, and I support that," says Ameshia Cross, a school administrator in Chicago.

"But I also think that took over a lot of the other policy goals and initiatives he was working on in the beginning.

"I didn't expect him to come in and change everything at once, and even though I still support him, I think that was one area where I think he fell short."

Obama arrives to speak and greet US troops at Fort Lee, Virginia, in Virginia, as the US sent around 600 extra troops to Iraq to train local forces for an offensive on the Islamic State group

What about the challenges in foreign policy?

Obama has been accused of lacking a strategy to deal with so-called Islamic State and Syria.

And his failure to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay is seen as a major shortcoming.

But then Osama bin Laden was captured under Obama's leadership and he dramatically reduced the number of US soldiers serving abroad.

Rico Coleman, who served in the US Army in Afghanistan, doesn't agree with those who criticise Obama's foreign policy.

"Going to Afghanistan, putting my life on the line, was worth it to me on a personal level," he tells Newsbeat.

"I don't know how much of a difference we made.

"But I don't think that we would have been able to do better under anybody else."

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