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Obama's identity

Thursday, 4th December 2008

His views on the black/mixed-race question:

He decided he belonged to the "community of humanity." I asked him whether that smacked of Tiger Woods' description of his biracial identity, which some blacks saw as a rejection of the black community. "My view has always been that I'm African-American," he said. "African Americans by definition, we're a hybrid people. One of things I loved about my mother was not only did she not feel rejected by me defining myself as an African-American, but she recognized that I was a black man in the United States and my experiences were going to be different than hers." At the same time, Obama says, when he takes his daughters to Hawaii to visit his grandmother--his mother is deceased--they visit a little old white lady from Kansas.

Via Ta-Nehisi Coates, who doesn't have much time for this "stupid" debate.. I think he's wrong there. It's my guess that generations to come will see Obama's mixed heritage as an incredible symbol of progress. One or two people I know didn't care for the way he referred to himself as "a mutt" in that first post-election press conference. I thought it was touching, and an extension of the themes he explores in "Dreams From My Father".

PS: It goes without saying that Tiger Woods' stance is just as valid. It's all a question of personal perception.