Is Barack Obama African-American?

[novapsyche]

Come join the hijinks in ljdemocrats.

(It's also interesting to note that the original post was about the viability of Hilary Clinton's candidacy; I think more replies have to do with candidates other than her.)

Comments

[guppiecat]

That always seems silly to me. If he was born and raised here, he's American, period. Seems to me that if you move from Africa to America, you're African-American. If you move from China to American, you're Chinese-American. Otherwise, to be consistent, I'd have to describe myself as "Welsh-Polish-Czech-Jewish-Cherokee-American".

[eleri.livejournal.com]

I don't think it matters what he calls himself, or if some think he cant be really black cause he's not purebred, or some such crap...What matters is that his skin is dark, and a large majority of conservative voters are not going to voter for a 'black' president or VP.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Again, Obama refers to himself as African-American.

What bothers me (as is evidenced on the thread I referenced) are people who say that because his mother was white that "he's basically a white guy." Um, do you know how race is constructed in the United States?

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Well, consider also that he was born in Honolulu.

[guppiecat]

Sure, but since Hawaii became a state in 1959, and Obama was born in 1961, I think he's still just an American.

Then again, I like to keep things simple.

[tomluffman.livejournal.com]

but his father is from Africa, so he is first generation American and I think that allows him to use the term and have more creditability with it than some others.

[pstscrpt.livejournal.com]

Half Irish, half Kenyan does not an African American make.
Is the objection here that he's really biracial, or is it that "African-American" is supposed to refer to descendants of slaves?

I have to wonder if the same sorts of objections would be raised about someone whose ancestors include a Virginia slaveowner raping his female slaves to produce children for sale to the cotton-growing states. That happened an awful lot, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that there are a lot of black Americans who are well under 50% African.


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As for candidacy, I wish the Democrats would realize that governorship has basically become a requirement for a serious presidential candidate (Kerry was not -- just about anyone should've been able to beat Bush in 2004). General may be an acceptable substitute; vice president probably isn't. As non-white male candidates go, Bill Richardson is probably the one to support.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

is it that "African-American" is supposed to refer to descendants of slaves?

I think that's exactly it. A commentator on NPR last week was taking calls about Obama, and one of the callers made the same argument, that because his mother was white, that made Obama "not really black." The commentator cautioned against that line of thinking. She then went on to say that a lot of people were more comfortable with Obama's racial background precisely because his father was African, not African-American--that is, that his conception was not the product of American slavery. His background made it possible for white voters to vote for him for his vision of the future instead of their own racial guilt.

I wish the Democrats would realize that governorship has basically become a requirement for a serious presidential candidate

People cotton to governors because, heh, they actually know how to govern. It's part of the job description, anyway. (Personally, I think that conventional wisdom would have been blown out of the water had Colin Powell decided to run in 2000.)

As non-white male candidates go, Bill Richardson is probably the one to support.

I've liked Richardson for some time. It's unfortunate that he doesn't possess the charisma of some of the other candidates in the field.

[pstscrpt.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think that conventional wisdom would have been blown out of the water had Colin Powell decided to run in 2000.
I think general can be considered mostly equivilant as an executive position. That's why I voted for Wesley Clark in the 2004 primary. And yes, I think Powell would have done well. Everyone respected him before that U.N. speech, and I think he would've picked up a lot of democratic votes, especially over such a weak candidate as Al Gore (who was still better than Kerry).


All I really know about Richardson is that he's the Democratic governor of a red state. However, that alone should put him past everyone I'm aware of, except Tom Vilsac (sp?).

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

I think general can be considered mostly equivilant as an executive position.

You did say that, didn't you? Then again, generals can get us in trouble--Andrew Jackson was a general, and he was the first American president to institute a government of cronyism.

[pstscrpt.livejournal.com]

I don't necessarily think general is equivalent to governor as far as ability to lead (Ike seems to have done reasonably well). I was speaking more of electibility. George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford were never governors, and I'd say they were better than average for recent presidents -- certainly better than Dubya, Reagan or Nixon.

I think Grant might be a better example of a general who didn't do well as president. Jackson wasn't so much unqualified as evil. Everything I hear about him reminds me of Dubya.

[dionysus1999.livejournal.com]

I think Colin Powell was a man even racist folks would have voted for. He projects a calm, reasonable air. He comes off as solidly middle American.

[tomluffman.livejournal.com]

His father is from AFRICA- if anyone is an African-American it would be him...

[techno-shaman.livejournal.com]

I dont know about the label games and what constitutes an "African-American" as opposed to just "American" (or why we even call ourselves "Americans" when there are about twenty or so other "American" countries), but my vote is with Obama if he runs.
I would probably vote for Hilary as well, but I would feel cheated- like somebody snuck two Republicans on the ticket.
Ive got a buddy who is going to get a tattoo of her face on his ass with her tongue crawling into his crack if she gets voted in.
About sums up my opinion of her as well.
Obama is solid though. :D
~Zephyr~

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: Race

Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.

Interesting that the page specifically names Kenya, the birthplace of Obama's father!

[techno-shaman.livejournal.com]

*laughs*
Well, for as much as the label game goes, he sounds African-American to me.
But following the description above, wouldnt we ALL be African-American?
~Zephyr~