…and the world keeps moving.
the article from the tribe highlights a researcher’s preliminary, and i stress preliminary, findings that obama, whose father is from Kenya and mother from Kansas, may be a descendent of slave owners. 
so what’s the point of this story? well, there are two, actually.
the first is that obama, as duly noted by the article, encapsulates the history of the united states in living, breathing flesh. how poignant is it that a desecendant of a slave owner and slave, in 2007, became a viable candidate for leader of the most powerful nation in the free world. i mean, you can’t write a better script that that!
the second point sheds light on another argument naysayers have latched onto about obama’s ‘true identity’. debra dickerson, an essayist, wrote an article in january on salon.com about how she ‘didn’t have the heart (or the stomach) to point out the obvious: Obama isn’t black.’ she goes onto say that “‘Black,’ in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves.”
wtf? are you kidding me?
while in no way has obama every pulled a tiger woods, the ‘splitting of hairs’ argument is getting way out of hand here. while ms. dickerson can get technical all she wants, black is the same definition now as it was back then: not white. best believe that if a line was drawn and all hell broke loose, obama, as well as tiger, colin powell, condolezza rice, and myself would all be on the same side. getting pedantic on ‘true blackness’ is just a stupid concept all in itself. it’s like pulling the reverse race card.
but i digress…
obama is the man. period.
don’t believe me? just go watch him speak! i’m telling you. none of that howard dean screamin’, bob dole pen-holdin’, bush stutterin’ nonsense.
obama ’08.
Kimberly
Absolutely true- if Black people were told to “go home,” Obama would be right there on the boat with the rest of us. Since when is anyone, black or white, in a position to tell anyone one else what they are not? Does being a descendent of a slave equal being black? So if I am the descendent of a free man who was never a slave, does that mean I’m not black? Her logic is beyond flawed- it is totally ignorant and proves yet another fact. By writing books about his past and pointing out himself what others may have tried to use against him. So now all people can really harp on is his race- is he “black enough” and now, “is he black at all.” Puh-lease. Is that all they can come up with?
March 2, 2007 at 10:50 am
Blair
Virtually all Americans, no matter what their race, have ancestors who owned slaves or participated in the slave trade. Free blacks also owned slaves (one of the South’s largest slave owners was a freed black man.) If researchers traced Obama’s African lineage, they would almost certainly that his had ancestors who were involved in the African side of the Atlantic Slave trade. Europeans did not kidnap and enslave Africans. They pruchased slaves from African tribes and resold them in the Americas. All African tribes were deeply envolved in the slave trade.
Slavery was practiced in all the Northern states before the Civil War and was still legal in some of the Northern states during the Civil War. That’s why Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in states that had seceded from the Union. New England merchants owned the fleets of slave ships. They bought slaves in Africa and resold them in the Americas. This is the source of the funding for the American Industrial Revolution. (The plantation owners, by comparison, tended to be land rich but cash poor, and most of them lost their land after the Civil War.
American Indians also owned slaves, both before and after the European discovery of America. (The Cherokees were the last Americans to give up slavery. Slavery was still legal on tribal lands following the Civil War. The U.S. government ended slavery within its borders by pruchasing slaves from Indian tribes and setting them free.)
Hispanic or Latin Americans are also decendants of slave owners. More than two-thirds of African slaves transported to the Americas went to Mexico or South America.
The ancestors of virtually all European Americans were once enslaved. The word “slave,†in fact, comes from the word “Slavic,†or Eastern European. Europeans were still being sold as slaves while the Atlantic slave trade was underway. A few white slaves–not to be confused with indentured servants–were transported to America in early Colonial days, but were eventually replaced with African slaves who, it was thought, were more resistants to diseases such as malaria.
March 2, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Fredric
right.
so, i’m a slave, you’re a slave. everybody is a slave.
gotta love the glass house people throwing rocks.
March 3, 2007 at 6:48 am
Terris
Excellent points, Fredric.
Whatever happened to concept of Pan Africanism? Did that land on the trash heap along with hip-hugger pants and shing-a-ling vests.
March 5, 2007 at 6:45 pm
JD Walton
Fredric, outstanding post and outlook. I have written on the 1 drop rule and ruffled the feathers of some biracials, 1 drop of black blood makes you black. Obama understands this and he married black. He cannot help his hertiage and he cannot be happy with the slave linkage but he is my man as well. As black people if we cannot support Obama, that could mean we are only comfortable with white leadership. As a VP for one of the world’s great health care companies i did meet some blacks who did not like me as their boss because i was not white. Many of us have the slave mentality still. I responded to your comment on my blog regarding this topic. You are doing outstanding work and I will add you to my blog roll, I hope you do the same. keep hope alive!
March 5, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Fredric
Done!
March 6, 2007 at 4:51 am
JC
Ummm, Obama rocks and all, I guess, but I just wanna see how cats act when there are two seemingly viable Black candidates are trying to run (lol clearly Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson just didn’t count). I mean, wouldn’t we take a step back and make an effort to evaluate the candidates for their qualifications and character? Oh wait, isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing anyway? Oops…
Let’s work on getting to the point where we pay closer attention to the people who want to represent us in government. It’s too easy to look at race, gender, or party affiliation.
YBPs, a vote for not-Obama doesn’t necessarily mean you’re uncomfortable with non-White leadership. If that were the case, one could also say that your vote for Obama means you’re just another brainless voter going with the flow.
Just vote for what’s most important to you. And I emphasize “VOTE!”
March 6, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Kimberly Michelle
you make some good points JC, that reminds me of when Tavis Smiley said Black people are on a “democratic plantation,” slaves to the democratic party just because one day they said they’d support Black issues…
i badly want to say that i would elect a Black president no matter what- not to go with the flow, but for history’s sake. but then i remember justice clarence thomas….
that being said…let’s continue to focus on the issues. and i think Obama is on the right track
March 6, 2007 at 6:37 pm
YBP Guide — obama dances…a little
[...] you’ve read my previous posts about my feelings concerning the black blogosphere’s opinion to obama, you know that [...]
March 6, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Obama dances…a little
[...] you’ve read my previous posts about my feelings concerning the black blogosphere’s opinion on obama, you know that i’m [...]
March 11, 2007 at 12:20 pm
YBP Guide — affirmative action for whites
[...] as a young black professional, the simple answer is to understand this reality and lead a purposeful-driven life to enact change. while the world may not reach the utopia of equality and fundamental logic in our lifetime, the exposure of this reality in 2007 should allow us to see the path still being plotted from ghana to obama. [...]
March 23, 2007 at 10:04 am
Vought
And this whole article has to do with the CONTENT OF HIS CHARACTER….how?
Grow up.
May 26, 2007 at 2:06 pm
dfe
Yes its true and i agree with JC theres not a single “race” on earth who’s ancestors haven’t suffered from slavery including as “whites” too but for the other fellow to say europeans didn’t kidnap the africans is a lie, not to say some africans were not involved but history as we know it has been changed so much we don’t know whats what, and when most think of africa because of ignorance, white supremasit trying to justify their acts and hollywood, they think of the “dark contitent” where black creatures wandered around doing nothing” because godfobid they were intelligent people with thriving kindoms and cities and their invenstions and knowlege help plaved the way for society as we know it today ….damn that could mean that skin color don’t really mean anything does it, shocking I know.
but black to my point when were learn about the enslavement of the african people we only here one side, the european side, and not the african side, but the truth is african kings and queens raged wars against the europeans and fought against the enslavement of their people and colonization, such as queen nzinga of angola and the Ashanti Confederacy who fought and won many battles against the britsh
July 30, 2007 at 10:23 am
Bryan in Texas
After showing he can win in a 97% white state last night, Obama is our man. No matter what; he has my vote on Super Tuesday and on Nov 4,2008.
That being said, I still take pause and wonder when America will also be able to accept the African American / Black Man who decends from those who were enslaved in this country; the man whos ancestors eudured Jim Crow laws, the one who’s ancestors endured over a century of random and not so random lenching, the one whose forefathers were terrorized by the KKK, the one whose parents and grandparents had to attend separate and UNEQUAL schools, the one who’s parents faught for their own civil rights. You know, the one who can only trace his ancestry to some plantation in the south or south east and not back to any particular continent. The one whose skin color and facial features are a blend or European and Africans but he dosent’ know which came from where. He’s darker than Obama but fairer than Alek Wek. When will he be accepted as someone who might lead this country?
America has pretty much accepted the Black Woman by elevating Oprah as Queen of the culture, and allowing her influence to dominate the country. But what about the man child?
Until then, Obama is our man and he’ll do a great job and one day open the door for someone like me. He gave an awesome speech last night.
January 4, 2008 at 11:53 am
d.b.
Right right They Came Before Columbus by Ivan Van Sertima, The Birth of Black America by Tim Hashaw, One Drop of Blood by Scott L. Malcolmson, The Color of Fascism by Gerald Horne .
February 20, 2008 at 2:47 pm
R.E. Prindle
Q….Doesn’t being an ex-slave mean being black…?
A. No, it doesn’t. Whites were the first slaves in American only being displaced by Blacks. Cromwell sold 10s of thousand of Irish into slavery in both the Caribbean and the United States where they worked in the fields cheek by jowl with Blacks.
But being Black may indicate that one’s ancestors were slaves in the US. A Black’s ancestors were all slaves in Africa. Barack Obama is not descended from US slaves. His African ancestors were never residents in the US before his mother’s inseminator.
March 2, 2008 at 4:32 pm
gloria
I did a websearch on Obama once and his Father came from the country which was the Arab capital of the African Slave trade. Kenya Obama’s Father’s homeland was that country. So in Barrack Hussein Obama, you have a fairly aristocratic black man whose Father went to Harvard with an Arab name from the country that was the capital of the Arab slave trade in blacks.
These circumstances virtually shout that Obama is descended from slave traders. Blacks who in close association with the Arabs helped sell their fellow blacks into slavery. Those Black Africans took on Arabic Ethnic identities, names, and religion. Like Obama’s relatives.
The Slave markets in Zanzibar, Kenya, were among the last to close. They closed in 1888 a quarter of a century after the Civil War ended slavery in the US.
When I see Obama on television I see a man who seems to have that kind of family confidence that comes to the descendants of aristocrats and slave owners over generations. He is always sure that he will prevail over the lowborn commoners around him. He could change his name back to an African name, to hold on to an Arabic name is a classist distinction.
Is America about to elect the descendant of slave owning, slave trading Muslim aristocrats into the White House, as a ‘Black’ man? This is a real question.
It would pretty much destroy black peoples right to object to flying the Confederate Battle Flag or objecting to people being proud of Robert E. Lee or Jefferson Davis.
The only thing about him, is that he does not fit the preconceptions about Color which most Americans hold. If he is elected it will be because Americans cannot understand his origins and the history of his people confusing it with the history of black people in the USA. This is about history. The history of Kenya as the Arab center of the slave trade is an important part of world history. The fact that today a man from Kenya is running for President of the US demands an examination of the history of Kenya.
http://boards.historychannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700025855&tstart=15&mod=1201616022585
March 8, 2008 at 5:34 am
jen
While I absolutely agree with you about Obama definitely being black, I think some African Americans are concerned with the fact that he isn’t. They are concerned whether he will represent them. Personally, I think he’ll be a great president. (Obama, prove me right!)
March 20, 2008 at 11:18 pm
jen
P.S. Maybe with his roots, he will do better with Saudi Arabian relations!
March 20, 2008 at 11:19 pm
jen
LOL! I was just reading about the whites who claimed not to own blacks. I was just watching History Channel tonight, where they talked about Vikings selling off 10% of all (white) Europeans, including an Irish monastery. The peaceful monks were attacked and sold as slaves.
March 20, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Anthony Burrett
I never heards
such a load of nonsense. The history of Kenya has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the possible election of Obama as President of the USA! You have every right to oppose the election of any candidate, but your going back to the history of Kenya! Gimme a break. That is absolute nonsensical (and not a little desperate)
April 13, 2008 at 3:49 am
Eddie Rushing
We have in barack obama a man claiming to have a common legacy with american blacks; that being a claim of being a desendent of african slaves. His father had tribal affilation in kenya(eastern africa) and was a muslim. These were the “middle men” in the african slave trade with the arab muslims being at the top of the slave trade pyramid in that region(eastern africa). The victims of the slave trade were from western africa and had not converted to islam(the koran states that a “infidel” may be enslaved). When american blacks adjust their historical perspective on the slave trade they should rapidly lose their curious affinity for the arab muslim world.
June 12, 2008 at 10:54 am
Amos summerall
Let us get over all this BLACK AND WHITE garbage, like it or not Obama is the best person for the office this year. John McClain is too old and senile ( I am 63 so I am an old fart also). Billary was a known loser so Obama is the man. He is what is called bi-racial but the law states you are what you say you are or which ever race you associate or see yourself as. This being said, I as a white Florida Cracker i could say I am Black, Cuban, italian or White and that is what I would be. Vote Obama , he is our only chance to get the United states out of this rut we are in. God Bless The United States of America
Amos Summerall
Tampa, florida
June 15, 2008 at 10:48 am
James C.
There isnt a doubt in my mind that if the news was that McCain’s ancestors owned slaves it would be front page news and he would be denounced across the board by the dems..
June 24, 2008 at 5:52 pm
TicklymyFancee
I mean so what, the man’s ancestor’s owned slaves.
One of my ancestors owned three african slaves, and married one of them, producing mulatto children. Years later, my Scottish great grandfather married his black ex-slave as well.
Now here we are modern day family tree:
2 ancestors who owned slaves. two ancestors who married them. one kixed up family tree. That’s just another example of the American experience. (BIG DAMN DEAL)
And I am black, just like obama is black. Most African Americans are mixed with European blood, does that mean that they can’t be considered black anymore???
Come on people, let’s be real.
R.E. Prindle –Very true. Slavery is nothing new or uncommon to the world. The only difference is that “old-world” slavery was just about WORK. Many times, slaves could work their way up and out of slavery. And ususally, there was no huge wall such as color, to differentiate between the slave and master. The problems started when the “masters” put the bar so high that no SLAVE could attain. If being less than means non-educated (Then by educating a slave, this would slve the problem). But the world started to look @ slavery as a color issue. If you were not white, then you MUST be made to be a slave. And unlike education, being white is not something that can be changed or chosen.
And as for Blair saying that whites did not capture black is simply idiotic and crazy.
Yes, there were tribes who sld other tribes. That’s was something akin to American’s not caring if little African babies are dying (hint, hint)
The tribes weren’t united (much like the clans of Ireland). And although some tribes sold people of other tribes. We know that human nature dicatates that if given an inch, we take a whole TEN miles. White men, Portuguese, Jewish men, Arabic, Indian, and Dutch men. My apologies if I left ANYBODY OUT, all threw their bid into the mix, and found a way to profit off of FREE LABOR.
So do not, in any way, diminish everybodys helping hand in that deplorable piece of history.
July 17, 2008 at 9:10 am
TicklymyFancee
Comment by Eddie Rushing on 12 June 2008:
The victims of the slave trade were from western africa and had not converted to islam(the koran states that a “infidel†may be enslaved). When american blacks adjust their historical perspective on the slave trade they should rapidly lose their curious affinity for the arab muslim world.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
The Koran also says something about a Jihad. But when they start blowins mess up all over the place. Oh then, it’s a problem huh?
See, this is how the world is Fcked up now. Nobody has empathy for the other person.
I don’t need somebody to shoot me to know that it hurts. Everything is fine and forgetabble “ONLY IF ITS NOT ME”
July 17, 2008 at 9:16 am
jannke
What the f***! Do you know that Michelle Obamas ancestors were slave owners, like every black person in America. Get a life!
October 7, 2008 at 9:50 am
Lynn Hammer
I don't vote for someone because of their appearance, their posture, or how well they speak. That is meaningless. I look at their track record, what they've done in the past and what things they've said that express what they believe. If over a period of years, they are pretty consistent in their actions (voting records, etc.) and what they say, this is what I base my decision on in supporting them or not supporting them.
Many people have been deceived into voting for someone because they look good or speak profoundly. It's about what they think, what they believe, and what they plan to do. Finally, will they surround themselves with knowledgable people who can supplement their knowledge in areas they have no expertise in, or do they consider themselves to know all? This the intelligent way to make a judgment on candidate.
October 23, 2008 at 8:55 am
Ibne Adam
eddie considering the brutal chattel slavery practiced by Americans how can Black America have any affinity for white America. Do you have any understanding to the genocide perpetrated on Africa by European and immigrant European slave traders or the white immigrants from Europe that came to America and committed genocide against the American Indian and took his land and relagated him to reservations.??? The only genocide committed by europeans was just against the Semetic people (Jews and Arabs). Those who know history also know the the slavery practiced by the Semites (Jews and Arabs) was not for the purposes of turning a man into a commodity to be sold for the purpose of providing free labor. Cotton, tobacco, rice and all agriculture was the heart of America's economy and all built on the brutal slave system. Obama doe not feel this simply because he is a Kenyan born of a white woman raised by white grandparents. A Black American/Negro American with a ancestor from the American slave system in is tree – he is not. He is a halfwhite African American who gains citizenship through his white American mother. He has a totally different psyche and soul. Had his father been a Black American and had he been raised by Black American grandparents he would be a different man – from the heart and white America would probably not have welcomed him with such open arms.
October 23, 2008 at 12:51 pm
King C. Hussein of Denmark
Uh, but the Battle Flag's re-elevation was mostly a consequence of _pride_ in an history of slaves-owning, and of resistance to the granting of the full rights of the citizen to the slaves' descendants.
My guess is that if B. Hussein O. were asked about this “feature” (to use an I.T. industry term—it is often used ironically to mean “defect”) of his lineage's history, he would know it, but would probably not express pride in it.
In any event, one of the best thing about the U.S. is the idea that you will not be a prisoner of your ancestry.
October 29, 2008 at 2:45 pm
donna
I voted for a man named Obama who presented options and hope I have never experienced. Were he white brown, green or yellow I would have voted for him.
November 5, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Inquireme
I believe that Barry's mother had ancestors that own slaves, and his father had ancestors that sold slaves. How ironic coming from the man who will supposedly heal all from the blight of slavery.
November 13, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Joanne
I think the point is that many American Blacks, whose families suffered greatly as slaves, whose family members were rounded up like cattle and sold to the highest bidders by many Kenyan's, would not have been so pro-Obama if they thought his family prospered by selling their brethern. Selling your brethren into slavery, isn't the feel good story presented in Obama's bio. If his family were slavers, he is by association, more culpable than the slave owners. Slavery was big business in Africa, even at the time of Christ. Slaves were 2nd only to Ivory as far as an export commodity was concerned, and most of the buyers were Arabs. If the African ancestors of Obama were slavers, it would be a slap in the face to many whose families suffered the fate of the enslaved. It would also be a kick in the butt to Jeremiah Wright who loudly raised his racist voice against Whites when speaking in favor of Faraquhan, proclaiming that Faraquhan hadn't put chains on him (although he probably would have), only to find out that Obama's kin may have….. To be honest, I would have preferred that the first Black American President be from the descendants of American Slaves, not from a possible enslaver.
November 20, 2008 at 1:50 pm
mike
http://americancivilwar.com/authors/black_slave... Look up this site and get a little more imfo on all the numbers that every one is throwing around about slave owners You will find out that a small percentage of whites owned slaves compared to the total population. In fact there was a substsntial amount of black slave owners if you compare the numbers. If you quit pointing fingers about something that hapened long ago there would be less racesism. I personaly am not a racist person in my heart, but the constant finger pointing,blame game , and contempt for the whites in general by blacks makes it not a racial issue, but a personal issue!I get tired of blacks constantly pointing at the white race for all there problems. I understand that my ancestors moraly wrong. But so did some blacks. After all the magority of blacks where bought from other blacks in africa. Please read the artical whriten in n the website that i posted at the begining of this post! Im trying to be mar imformed and so should you!!
December 5, 2008 at 7:02 pm
mark
I've just read your comments. You say ” how poingnant is a desecendant of a slave owner. Appreantly very important. Its so important that at any given day a black Amercian will bring up slavery by the white man and how blacks were treated. My Amercian history class never mentioned that there were blacks that also owned slaves in th 1700s. It also failed to mention ( maybe not to start another race riot) that if you take the white population of whites and the population of blacks that the blacks owned more slaves than the whites. Unless you look up and research our complete Amercian History a Huge amount of blacks don;t know about and alot of whites don't know the facts. First of all most other countries owned slaves of one race or another. Only 5% of black Afrcians that were brought over by boat landed in our us shores. Slavery was bascially in the south. The Offcial U.S. Census of 1830 there were 3,775 free blacks and 12,740 black slaves. The first black slave owner was Mr Anthony Johnson, of Northhampton Virginia. His slave was called John Casor. In 1860 blacks continued to hold slaves some 3,000 blacks owned nearly 20.000 slaves! whites at best owned 1 to 5 slaves. in 1790 William Ellison owned 63 slaves. A balck Auguste Donatto in Louisiana landry Parish owned 70 slaves. The ” How poignant” Blacks top two issues we constantly hear about is slavery and Equality. So if all of a sudden we are to ignore if Obamas family history was weather or not his father or grandfather owned a slave. The tell all the black Amercians and th “Afrcian Amercian” To simply shut up about our forefathers and slavery! One set of Rules. A Black Amercian will make a great leap once he stops living in the past (slavery) and stop seperating themselves by say “Afcrian” A balck is U.S. citizen period and just happens to be black. Show the whites that the blacks can keep trash off of the street sand stop killing each other on the streets. I would love to see TRUE History in our public schools. Maybe Obama could change that . Also of 12.8% blacks in the U.S. why is there 300 to 500% of over representation in our goverment offices?? By the true actual facts alone the white colonists are not fairly accounted for. Remember Its a choice for every human being to be good or bad. P.S. Polls, 96% of blacks voted for Obama. Imagine if 96% of whites voted for Mcain. Civil WAR without a doubt!!!! 96% was to much of Racial votes by blacks.
December 8, 2008 at 12:41 am
Gregory J Hoffman
nice article! nice site. you're in my rss feed now
keep it up
January 31, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Dana Whitney Reynolds
Interesting thing is Barack’s white parents have been found to trace back to a free black family according to Tim Hashaw author of The Melungeons: Children of Perdition. If so Obama is probably African American.
May 20, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Joey Tomberlin
For all of you who voted for change, change you got. Quit you crying and move on. Next election vote for the most qualified person. GO OBAMA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 10, 2010 at 6:10 pm