Kid reporter who interviewed Obama at White House dies at 23

Weaver was 11 when he interviewed Obama for 10 minutes

The student reporter who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009 has died of natural causes, his family says. 

Read More: Obama family dog, Bo, has died: ‘We said goodbye to our best friend’

Damon Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. Further details were not released. He had been studying communications at Albany State University in Georgia. 

Weaver was 11 when he interviewed Obama for 10 minutes in the Diplomatic Room on Aug. 13, 2009, asking questions that focused primarily on education. He covered school lunches, bullying, conflict resolution and how to succeed. 

This May 23, 2016 file photo shows Royal Palm Beach High School student Damon Weaver during his high school graduation in West Palm Beach, Fla. Weaver who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009 has died of natural causes, his family says. Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, 2021 his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Weaver then asked Obama to be his “homeboy,” saying then-Vice President Joe Biden had already accepted.

“Absolutely,” a smiling Obama said, shaking the boy’s hand. 

Read More: April Ryan reacts to Michelle Obama’s comments on race: ‘I feel her fear’

He used that meeting to later interview Oprah Winfrey and athletes like Dwyane Wade. 

“He was just a nice person, genuine, very intelligent,” Hardy said. “Very outspoken, outgoing. He never said no to anybody.”

23-year old Damon Weaver, known doing being the “kid reporter”’who interviewed Obama back in 2009 died from natural causes according to his sister.

He studying communications at Albany State University in Georgia & looking forward to a career in journalism.

RIP to this king. pic.twitter.com/4BK7McaJe0

— Jade Jackson (@IAMJADEJACKSON) May 15, 2021

Weaver got his start in fifth grade when he volunteered for the school newscast at K.E. Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary in a farm community on the shores of Lake Okeechobee. 

“Damon was the kid who ran after me in the hall to tell me he was interested,” his teacher, Brian Zimmerman, told the Post in 2016. “And right away, I just saw the potential for the way he was on camera. You could see his personality come through. He wasn’t nervous being on camera.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Kid reporter who interviewed Obama at White House dies at 23 appeared first on TheGrio.

from TheGrio https://ift.tt/3y9d0sB