» posted on Sunday, July 28th, 2024 by Linda Lou Burton
#44. Obama, Barack
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – Barack Hussein Obama II (b 1961) was the 44th President of the United States from 2009-2017. He goes into the history books as “ the first African-American president in US history,” self-identifying as African-American because his father was Kenyan, and his mother was born in Kansas. Father Barack Sr was a member of the Luo ethnic group that lived along the shores of Lake Victoria; at the time of his birth in 1934 Kenya was a protectorate of the British Empire. Mother Ann Dunham was an only child; when she was born in Wichita in 1942, her Dad was in the US Army; the family’s ancestry was mostly English, with a bit of Scottish, Welsh, and Irish mixed in. How in the world – our big old world – did two such disparate people come together, we all wondered, when we first began to hear of Barack. The story is remarkable, a story bigger than imagination. And equally remarkable is the story of the 2008 presidential election, when not only the first African-American sought a spot on a presidential ticket; it was also the year the first female sought that unique responsibility.
A History Lesson before we begin – in case you didn’t get the gist back in school. The US Constitution, ratified in 1789, was put together by white male landed gentry as an outline for governing 13 colonies that had bonded together in statehood as a democracy, free from the restrictions of a monarchy. The “right to vote,” that is, to select those who would contribute to the governing of those states, was left to the individual states. The qualifications for becoming president were age (35+), citizenship (not clearly defined), and residency (at least 14 years in the colonies-now-states).
The first count of people was the 1790 US Census, which divided the population of almost 4 million into four categories, measuring Free White Males (over 16 and under 16), Free White Females, and Slaves. Free White Males made up 42% of the entire population; Free White Females 40%; Slaves 18%. The Constitution provided for a system of checks and balances – that is, self-correcting mechanisms – as a democracy should. To date it has been amended 27 times, the last in 1992. Let’s look at two that focused on voting rights:
- In 1868, during the presidency of #17 Andrew Johnson, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including formerly enslaved people, and providing all citizens with “equal protection under the laws” (which did not assure them of voting privileges in every state).
- In 1920, during the presidency of #28 Woodrow Wilson, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the required 36 states, removing sex as a determinate for voting eligibility, stating “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” (which still did not assure them of voting privileges in every state).
Since that first election in 1789, privileges and opportunities for “voting eligibility” improved but still varied state to state, as the disenfranchised protested, lobbied, and fought for change. But even getting “on the ticket” to be voted FOR was an exclusive white male accomplishment until 2008.
Now let’s be clear – the Constitution didn’t block that from happening; it was our own perception of suitability. We didn’t favor Catholics (give the Pope power?) or Jews or agnostics or atheists; we wanted Christians, no matter how fallen. We didn’t want a president who was too young or too old. Even though we prided ourselves on our diversity, we didn’t trust anyone with an African, or Asian, or Latino connection. No off-white colors, or accents. Women were “too emotional” to make good decisions, and heaven forbid anyone who was divorced, or gay.
The major deciding factor? Our individual comfort zones. Would we accept a person of color? A person of the right color but the wrong sex? Would we elect someone based simply on their skills and experience and character and charisma?
History Lesson over now, let’s look at the story of the first person who broke the color barrier.
It Started In Hawaii
Barack Hussein Obama II was born August 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother Stanley Ann Dunham (1942-1995) was 18, she’d entered the University of Hawaii fall semester, 1960. His father Barack Hussein Obama Sr (1934-1982) a 27-year-old foreign exchange student, was there on scholarship from Kenya. Ann and Barack wound up in the same class that fall.
Ann Dunham was born in Kansas; her family moved to California, then Washington; they lived in the Seattle area during her high school years. Dad Stanley Dunham was a salesman, Mom Madelyn worked at a bank; they wanted their daughter to attend Mercer Island High, a forward thinking school in an exclusive community. She graduated in 1960, high-spirited and ready for the U of Washington, but Dad sought business opportunities in Hawaii and insisted she move with them. She enrolled at the U of Hawaii that fall, met Barack, got pregnant, dropped out of school, and had a baby. In fall 1961 she moved back to Seattle with her infant son, and spent the first year of his life as a student at U of Washington. The Department of Anthropology there created the Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship Fund in 2015 to honor her, and her work, for Ann went on to receive a PhD in Anthropology; her career led her to Indonesia and years of work addressing women’s roles and rural poverty. And her infant son went on to become president of the United States.
Barack Obama Sr was never a part of his son’s life; they met only once. He finished his last year at the U of Hawaii while Ann and baby were in Seattle; in 1962 he headed for Harvard. He was back in Kenya by 1964, and died there at the age of 48, leaving behind a trail of unrealized opportunities. He didn’t maintain a stable family life (though his relationships with four women produced eight children); he didn’t make best use of his fully funded scholarships (Harvard kicked him out of his PhD program); and he ultimately botched a prime job in Kenya. Barack published these words about his father’s absence in his life: I only remember my father for one month in my whole life, when I was 10….I think (his absence) contributed to me really wanting to be a good dad….because not having him there made me say to myself, “I want to make sure my girls feel like they’ve got somebody they can rely on.”
A Good Dad’s Childhood
Barack struck a home run in the “good dad” department. This 2015 photo by the cherry trees is typical of Obama family photos – smiles from Malia, Michelle, Barack, Sasha. The girls are even prettier nowadays; Barack is grayer, but that glow remains the same; something about the four of them seems upbeat, positive, unafraid; with maybe a little mischief lurking. Maybe? Strict about honoring responsibilities, Mom and Dad have taken these girls absolutely everywhere; they’ve seen the world. Michelle is one of the most sought-after public speakers and most admired First Ladies ever. And besides being a good Dad, and good husband, in October of his first year as president Barack was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
You need a map to follow Barack’s childhood; the places he lived; the people who made up his larger family; the languages and cultures he experienced. No wonder international diplomacy was a positive trait. Go back to his first year of life – born in Honolulu, whisked to Seattle as the son of a college student; her skin white, his black. Mom Ann moved them back to Honolulu and resumed classes at the University of Hawaii in January 1963. And there she met Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia; he was studying geography at the University. They married in 1965; when Lolo’s visa expired he returned to Indonesia. Ann and Barack moved in with her parents, and Barack attended kindergarten at Noelani Elementary in Honolulu. Ann earned her BA in Anthropology in August 1967. On to Indonesia.
Ann moved with Barack to Jakarta. Lolo worked on a topographic survey for the government; Ann taught English and served as Asst Director of the Indonesia-America Friendship Institute. Barack attended the Indonesian language Catholic school around the corner from their house for grades up to 3; then to Indonesian-language Besuki School through 4th grade. He picked up the Indonesian language, joined the Scouts, and everybody called him Barry. In the summer of 1970 Barry visited Grandpa and Grandma Dunham in Hawaii. And that August, his half-sister Maya Soetoro was born in Indonesia.
Barack (Barry) started 5th grade at the top-rated private Punahou School in Honolulu, living with his grandparents. In 1972 Mom Ann moved back to Honolulu to start graduate study in anthropology at the U of Hawaii; from grades 6-8 Barack lived with his mother and Maya. Ann received her MA in Anthropology in 1974; she and Maya returned to Indonesia. Barack chose to stay with his grandparents and continued his studies at Punahou School until graduation in 1979.
In his memoir Barack describes his experiences growing up in his mother’s middle class family. His knowledge about his African father came mainly through family stories and photographs. Of his early childhood, he writes: “That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind.” Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, he wrote: “The opportunity that Hawaii offered—to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect—became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear.”
Barack was still being called “Barry” by most folks when he arrived at Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1979. “He always went by Barry, for simplicity and as an accommodation to Anglo society,” a friend relayed later, “but I said I would only call him Barack, because it was a strong African name.” From LA to NY, Barack transferred to Columbia for his junior and senior years, earning a BA in political science; he worked a bit in New York, then Chicago; then entered Harvard Law School where he graduated magna cum laude in 1991. And in 1992, at the age of 31, he married Michelle.
The Good Husband Part
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, the second child of Fraser and Marian Shields Robinson; her older brother was Craig. They lived in an apartment in Chicago’s South Shore community; life was described as “conventional” – Dad worked, Mom was home, dinner was around the table, school just down the street. Until 6th grade, when she entered gifted classes; she took advanced placement classes in high school, graduating in 1981. She followed her brother to Princeton, graduating cum laude in 1985; then on to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1988. She went to work at the law firm of Sidley Austin in Chicago, and that’s where she met one of the few African-Americans working there, Barack Obama. Story goes, they shared a business lunch. Barack has said it was an “opposites attract” scenario – she’d grown up in the stability of a two-parent home while his childhood was “adventurous.” Barack had made a 1987 visit to Kenya in search of his African roots; though his father had died by then, he met a grandmother, a half-sister, and many cousins; his knowledge of “family” had widened considerably.
And it continued to expand. On October 3, 1992 Barack and Michelle got married, gaining both of them a slew of in-laws. Their wedding took place at Trinity Church in Chicago; two of the bridesmaids were Barack’s half-sisters, Maya Soetoro from Indonesia and Auma Obama from Kenya, an international affair. But very traditional too; white roses, beautiful wedding gown, and all the reception-after fun.
The Obama Family Homes
After the honeymoon, Barack and Michelle lived in Chicago; he taught at the U of Chicago Law School, she became executive director for the Chicago Office of Public Allies. Barack was elected to the State Senate in 1996; Michelle became associate dean of student services at the U of Chicago. Daughter Malia was born in 1998, daughter Sasha in 2001. Barack was elected to the US Senate in 2004, and next thing you know, it was 2008.
How does it feel to know that 69,456,897 people chose you? January 20, 2009 was a glorious inauguration day; it set a record attendance for any event ever held in the city; add TV and the Internet and it was one of the most-observed events ever by a global audience. Not too many noticed the word Chief Justice Roberts misplaced as he administered the oath of office (a do-over the next day just in case; it’s “faithfully execute” and not “execute faithfully” the duties of the president); the skies were clear for the parade and in the evening there were 10 inaugural balls.
It was so good, Barack did it again four years later. 65,915,796 voters wanted him back, even though everything didn’t get accomplished that we all wanted done (it never does). But he stayed the course.
I won’t rehash the legislation, new problems, old grudges, and great successes of Barack’s eight years in office; you lived through those times yourself. When the Obamas left the White House January 20, 2017, Barack and Michelle were in their 50’s, the girls moving fast through their teens. Their list of “firsts” forever marks the history books. What broader changes lie ahead? Are our Founding Fathers watching from the past, checking every now and then to see if we’ve caught the things they didn’t even think about, and made them right?
As to my party – Michelle and Barack are such good writers (so many books, so little time) I’d invite them over for a whole evening of story-telling. And maybe let them critique this post. I’d take notes.