Inauguration Response

Richard Hsu and Steven Song

Barack Obama is not an Asian American. However, we believe that Obama represents the diversity that incorporates ideas that Asian Americans identify with. The article written by Jeff Yang is interesting because it introduces the novel idea that attempts to label Obama as a vanguard of Asian progress. However, we believe these ideas and claims are not fully developed. Some of the arguments such as the fact that he was raised in Hawaii or that he has had interactions with Asian communities, do not convince us that this makes Obama an Asian American. We can see that through Obama's inauguration speech that he fully embraces the idea of unity in amongst the diverse US population, with no specific association towards race.

Yang points out several Asian American individuals that have ties to Obama’s life such as his brother-in-law and a few appointees to Obama’s cabinet. We feel that this doesn’t indicate Obama as being influenced by his personal experiences with Asians, as Yang claims, but rather he looks at the bigger picture and puts a greater emphasis on merit. We substantiate this claim by noting another prominent Asian American in Obama’s cabinet, Steven Chu, who was appointed energy secretary. Steven Chu is a Nobel-prize winning physicist, who is certainly qualified for this position. Obama’s decision to appoint an individual who would best meet the needs of the nation, rather than a politician was lauded by the scientific community. It is evident that Obama values merit over politics such as the color of one’s skin.

The musical presence of Aretha Franklin at the Inauguration ceremonies bolsters the public’s perception of Barack Obama as an African American. Aretha Franklin sang a soulful rendition of “My Country ‘tis of thee.” Her performance took a historical melody and infused it with styles reminiscent to Mrs. Franklin’s renowned manner of singing. This pairing of traditional and contemporary musical approaches represents the progress and equality that Obama symbolizes not only to African Americans, but also to the entirety of minorities in America. We understand this to be an opening of doors to all individuals.

The only representative of the API community was Yo-Yo Ma in his moving performance within an eclectic ensemble arranged by famed composer John Williams. This troupe of talented of musicians include: Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Venezuelan-American pianist Gabriela Montero, Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman, and African-American musician Anthony McGill on the clarinet. The musical brilliance displayed by these ethnically diverse individuals mirrors the goal that Obama seeks to accomplish within the United States; just as four people with entirely different cultures can create such a moving piece of music on stage, Obama hopes to bring together our multicultural nation into a harmonious composition of differing backgrounds and ideologies.

The music played during Barack Obama’s inauguration was steeped in tradition and ceremony. It contained the traditional musical aspects of prior inaugurations—silver bugles adorned by crested banners blaring presidential riffs. It seems that there were hardly any deviations from past inaugurations. We understand that Barack Obama has been an advocate of change. Specifically, this change that Obama is championing is one of wide scale socio-political transformations. It is more apparent that the inclusion of the key performances by Aretha Franklin and the quartet, including Yo-Yo Ma, symbolizes Barack Obama’s overarching theme of unity in such a diverse nation such as the US.

Jeff Yang and those who agree with his opinions may consider Obama Asian American if they want to. However, it is our point of view that Barack Obama embodies so much more than a single racial label. In light of today’s events, in addition to Obama’s messages we firmly believe that our new President stands for the union of disparate factions: a mash-up of ideas, beliefs, values, and race.

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