Obama his relations to Asian-America

"Calling Obama the first Asian American president doesn't obscure or invalidate his other identities — black, white, multiracial, transnational, pancultural. If anything, it simply highlights the fact that his diverse heritage uniquely invites those around him to project on him a full spectrum of hopes and dreams." In Yang's perspective, calling Obama an Asian-American is undoubtedly less concerned with his direct heritage, but rather it is more attentive to his moral values, childhood experiences, and upbringing.

Regarding my own paternal grandfather, whose family took residence in a small house for 6 in a town of New Jersey; my grandfather's children (including my father) have remarked often on the type of disciplined upbringing that they experienced. Both of my grandparents created the same dynamic consistent with other hardworking families, hoping to instill favorable work ethic in their children and prepare them for their future. For instance, my grandfather particularly enjoyed the practice of reading the newspaper at the bottom of the stairs every evening, posed perfectly to see hopeful escapees wanting to play outside. Rather, they would oftentimes be sent straight back up the stairs to get started on future assignments, extracurricular responsibilities, or chores. I believe that Barack Obama reflects an experience similar to many families, including those of modest work ethic and many ethnicities, but where are the boundaries drawn in defining one's cultural identity?

(http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2009/01/16/obama-relatives/)

According to an article in Hello Magazine (a British news provider, dealing with much of pop culture from around the globe) on January 16^th. , sources indicated that multiple family members of President Barack Obama that were influential in his upbringing would be attending the grand ceremonies, coming to see him from three seperate continents: Europe, Africa, and Asia. His sister Maya, a sibling who grew up with him in Hawaii and Indonesia, shared in his (proposed) Asian-American style upbringing, attended along with Obama's Granny Sarah (of Africa) and stepmother Kezia (from Britain). His guests, connecting him to various places around the world, show his diverse upbringing as well as his influence from Asian and African cultures and represent Barack's different ethnicities and cultural connections. Considering his proposed (and televised) images, these connections only further coincide with a major point in the Jeff Yang's article: the inclusion of how people, with many drastically different cultural identities, choose to identify with Barack, showing his perceived cultural identity as one of many characters.

The music included in the inaugural proceedings were scarcely variant from past inaugurations to the untrained ear, with the usual marching band parades, nationalistic themed songs, and presidential fanfare: however, there was almost no relation to Asian-America. Instead, the presence of Aretha Franklin seemed to further mold Barack's identity as the first African-American President rather than one who is primarily Asian.

From parts of the President's upbringing, Jeff Yang bases his opinions on Barack's identity as an Asian American in these experiences: “He was born and raised in Hawaii, the only majority-Asian state in the union; he spent four formative years in Jakarta, the home of his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro, where he attended local schools and learned passable Bahasa Indonesia.” Although Barack spent four years at a school in Asia, I personally have difficulty in wanting to follow suit, which would include referring to anyone who travels to or works in other countries as one of many (perhaps drastically different) cultural identities. Saying this, it is somewhat clear that my views give importance in maintaining the concept of one's cultural identity in their heritage and primary upbringing, as I feel it plays a distinct importance in the establishment of one's cultural identity and especially how it is perceived by others. Describing Obama, Lu includes "He's basically a human Rorschach test, African Americans think, and rightfully so, that this is a guy who understands their experience. But it's similar if you talk to Latinos and Asian Americans, or to our 22-year-old field organizers. People see in him the qualities they want to see.” Providing example for Obama's seemingly present relativity to Americans of many ethnic descents, the quote also subverbal hints towards an answer to what may be of true importance to the majority in electing leaders: whom they may relate to and their growing inattentive nature to one's ethnic heritage.

Considering the derivative article from which Jeff Yang used in conceptualizing this idea, it seems just as easy to dub Bill Clinton (a white man) as a President with African-American relation (through hobby and circumstance), but Toni Morrison's evidence showing Clinton to characterize “almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas” falls short in proving him to be truly African-American. In considering the concepts and relations of both articles, the two fell short in convincing me that Barack's identity is that of “the first Asian American President,” but rather reinforcing the thought that he will be noted in history for being the first “African-American President,” largely due to his skin color and major heritage. Both articles, however, did present interesting perspectives on how cultural identities may be perceived in the future, perhaps when the world has become a more global society.

Chris Ambler