CHICAGO - Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama went to church on Sunday and joked about being “too black.”
In a Father’s Day speech to several thousand people at the predominantly black Apostolic Church of God, Obama talked about how people need to have high expectations for themselves then shared a few anecdotes about running for president.
“You remember at the beginning, people were wondering — how come he doesn’t have all the support in the African American community. You remember that?” he said to shouts of “oh yeah.”
“That was when I wasn’t black enough. Now I’m too black,” he said to laughter and applause.
Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president if elected in November, is the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas.
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.
Photo credit: Reuters/John Gress (Obama speaks at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago on June 15, 2008)
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19 comments so far
Why is he being described as a “black” candidate? Is he not multi-racial? Say, if Jindal is the republican VP, would he also be considered “black”?. Granted he is of Indian descent, but his coloring is similar to Obama’s, - wouldn’t that make him a black candidate too? If you look at many of those of African descent, they are not of the same shade or hue of Obama. So how does one categorize people of east Asian descent, south asian descent, middle eastern population, even Turkey, where the population can look as different as black and white, many of us who are quite different in coloring, married to caucasians? After all, we have eurasian, mixed race, all types of coloring. Yet, Obama is constantly is being called the first “black”. Acknowledge that multi-racial people exist, we are all so proud of our heritages, from all over the globe, not just black and white! All the rest of us exist too.
- Posted by karuna bertamForget the sermon, let’s use the church to help us get elected.
- Posted by JacksonKaruna, he is described as a ‘black candidate’ because he considers himself an African American. He gets to decide his own ancestral affiliation, just like we all do.
- Posted by ScottI’m tired of B. Obama promoting himself as ‘black’, which he clearly is not. I guess there’s no ‘cache’ in promoting himself as bi-racial, plus he stands to garner the national black vote if he can sell himself as a bona-fide ‘black man’. Trouble is, he stands to alienate a large percentage of the white vote, because his effort to ‘darken’himself seems rascist, and is clearly a blatant, political stunt. Guess he’s selling out to the politically-correct crowd now.
- Posted by Kevin, USABi-Racial? So, if I am made up of 33% Italian, 33% Irish and 33% Native American, what race should I claim? Caucasian? Just because I look white? Should I claim to be black because the Italian side was from the southern coast of Italy, close to Africa? Who honestly cares what race he claims? All he’s doing is making fun of the media because at one point, they labeled him as not black enough and couldn’t win the black vote. Now he’s too black because he did a fist bump. Let the brother be.
- Posted by JosephBTo Scott above, Barack Obama didn’t necessary choose to consider himself African American. The law of Jim Crow did. He was raised by his white mother/grandparents, but wasn’t accepted in the white community. The black community did. To Kevin, Obama never promoted himself as a black candidate. He was in fact working diligently to stay away from that characterization. The media and the nature of american social life basically forced him to do so. This country is over 80 percent white. He’s half-white. Has it ever crossed your mind WHY doesn’t he use his mother’s race to win white votes? I don’t claim to be an expert in this matter, but I would encourage you to speak to anyone who has suffered from racial identity crisis.
- Posted by JimboObama is black because white society rejects those who are of mixed race. There is also a need to categorize people so that the lines are clear as to what group you belong to. Thus, people are treated accordingly.
- Posted by blkwhtWhatever he says or does, someone is going to have a problem with it. The man lives four Chicago city blocks from the church where he spoke, he lives in a 90% African-American community, his wife is African-American and he personally identifies with the African-American community. I was there on Sunday and we all were thrilled to have him with us to hear his totally honest and REAL assesment of what’s happening in the black community with regard to fatherhood. I am an African-American man. If Sen. Obama and I are walking down the street and someone say’s descrine those guys, 99% of people would say, “two black guys”, not one black guy and one multicultural guy. Stop being so idealistic!
- Posted by E. AllenThe fact that this is even being discussed shows how shallow of a country we live in. Everyone wants to move beyond racism, and then reuters posts an article like this…especially with no other comments about his speech.
I knew this election would be between those who are racist and those who aren’t, instead of the important issues at hand.
What a shame we are even discussing this.
- Posted by Brandon(Wake up country, please!)
How can we move beyond racism if so many people are supporting a man who attended a racist church for 20 years? Codoning racism of any kind is wrong. Obama sat there for 20 years studying and endorsing hatred for our country and blatant racism. Shameful day indeed. Hatred for whites and Jews is now acceptable I guess - because no one is talking about it!
- Posted by LauraChosing which ethnic group you identify with has never been a choice for AA people. America society has decided if you are at any percentage black, you are a Black person period. It has been this way since the slaves first came here from Africa. We were called Octaroons if we were 1/8 black and Malato if we were half black, but always black.
- Posted by Arletha PWhy haven’t all the Cathelics left the Cathelic church since there has been so many priests malesting children? Doesn’t that mean they are condoning pediphilia? Don’t be an idiot. Because I stand in my garage doesn’t make me a car. Stop accusing one person for another persons words or behavior. This no longer gives you an excuse to be racist. If you don’t want to vote for Barack Obama don’t vote for him. It is an individual’s choice. I have voted for white men for president for years and I am sure I didn’t agree with everything they represented, but I never didn’t vote for them because of what someone else said or did.
- Posted by Arletha PBarack Obama very much resembles his white grandmother Madlyn Dunham when he smiles. She had a beautiful smile. He also resembles his mother and grandfather Dunham. But we should be concerned about his judgment and decisions along with his smile and face. Is this the right time in America to elect to the presidency of the United States such a person as Barack Obama? A resounding YES! Forget about racism. This is the time for seeing a person for his real worth and conduct in this world today. I see Barack Obama as a man of heart, courage and quite a bit of intelligence, especially in diplomacy.
- Posted by Carole H.Amen….if his mom were Asian and his dad white he would described as multi-racial, so I don’t understand why the emphasis on him being black when he more correctly is multi-racial.
- Posted by KevinCarole H:
- Posted by ennarThree cheers to your very sesible comment, which echoes my own feelings about Obama.
I don’t think Obama’s Colour should be a national issue at this present age, what we should be disussing here are his manifestoes.
- Posted by Ekene[…] WinsObama Picks Ex-Clinton Camp Manager for VP AideObama faces racial concerns in key statesBlog: Obama’s “too black” jokeObama says encouraged by drop in violence in IraqBernanke: Rising health costs pose economic […]
- Posted by In Today’s News - Monday, June 16, 2008 · Iraq War News[…] Obama plays the race card yet again, “jokingly” complaining that he is “too black.” This is analogous to if John McCain would complaining that he is “too heroic” […]
- Posted by tdaxp » Blog Archive » The Affirmative Action CandidatePeople of African-American descent, whether they were mixed or not, have always been referred to as “black” and were treated as such (hence slavery and racism), and rejected by other races, so we stuck together. Nothing has changed since then. Racism still exists and mixed people still consider themselves to be black as they are still treated as such. True, we are the only country that defines (or tries to define) a race and heritage with colors - black and white - but look at who invented this separation and made up this definition–white people! You can’t turn around now and try to say that Obama is not black! Technically he is mixed, but since when did anyone start caring whether one was of mixed origin or not..we were all labled as black, and we still are.
- Posted by Angel