So many of my Republican friends argue with me that Obama has no experience and invariably they ask "What has he ever done?"
So I decided to read his memoir
"Dreams from My Father", Copyright @ 1995, 2004, by Barack Obama.Three River Press.
Well, he has done much more than I realized and much earlier than I imagined. This Diary contains my comments on the first 35 years of
Barack Obama's life, long before he entered into the public arena: approximately from 1962 until 1997. My analysis is based solely on my reading of his memoir. I have not read his second book, "The Audacity of Hope, " I have tried very hard to be objective and not allow my admiration for him interfere with this effort.
First,as a writer myself I was impressed by his writing style.It was a little difficult in the first chapter to be sure which aunts,uncles, grandmothers and gramps he was writing about (maternal or paternal side of family) but after the introductions he was very readable.
Barack's Father (Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.) was a native of Kenya of the Nyangoma District of the Luo tribe. His mother,(Ann Dunham) was from Wichita, Kansas.
His parents met at the University of Hawaii. They married and their first child, Barack Hussein, Jr. was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961.Barack's father was the first African American to attend The University of Hawaii. His mother's parents moved to Hawaii from Kansas when Barack's Grandfather Stanley (Gramps) Dunham was transferred there by his employer.
The marriage lasted only two years; Barack,Sr. left his mother and returned to his home in Kenya.He received a sholarship to attend Harvard U.and did not see his son again until Barack was 10 years old.
After receiving his P.H.D at Harvard the elder Obama returned to Kenya where he prospered for many years in prestigious Govcernment positions.
Anna began courting again and was remarried in 1965 to an Indonesian man named Lolo. The newlyweds moved to Indonesia with young Barack in tow.Lolo proved to be a very kind and decent stepfather to Barack.
The young boy was home schooled by his mother with the aid of a U.S. Correspondence Course. He was a fast learner;his Mother delighted in teaching him about famous African Americans such as Thurgood Marshall, Dr. King, Sidney Poitier and leaders of thew Civil Rights movement.
A few years later his Mother sent him back to Hawaii to live with his Grandparents, "Toot" and "Gramps". (note): I believe Toot is the Grandmother Barack dedicated his Victory speech to in Minnesota Tuesday night. His mother had some schooling she needed to complete in Indonesia.
She gave birth to a second child ,Maya and then her marriage gradually unraveled.
She rejoined young Barack (now 9) two years later. With the help of Gramps and Toot they were able to enroll Barack in a very reputable prep school named Punahou Academy. Barack is a little sketchy in his memoir about his adolescent "acting out" while he was enrolled at the prep school.
Aapparently he encountered his first problems with bigotry at this Academy.He internalized the abuse which he attributed to his mixed heritage.
Unhappy with the school, his classmates and his broken family he began to
seek solace in smoking reefers and drinking alchohol.
At this key juncture in his life his biological Father came to visit him and stayed for one month. Barack felt quite awkward being around him but because of the length of the visit he ultimately warmed up to him and learned much about this man he had never seen except as an infant. The elder Barack was invited to speak at his prep school because of his prestige in Africa.
His classmates were impressed by Mr. Obama and from then on Barack felt more accepted by them.He still indulged himself in pot and beer but was able to fight off the temptations of heavier and more dangerous drugs which were offered to him. In his memoir he stresses this was a turning point in his life; so to speak a "Y" in the road which might have destroyed his future.
The one month visit was the only time in his life Barack would ever see his father but man he searched for always lived in his dreams.
He settled down in his late teens,becoming a much more serious student and resolving some of his image problems. His beloved mother instilled in him a core of self-confidence he would never again lose.He graduated with honors and received a scholarship to attend Occidental College in Pasadena,California
He once again encountered racial slurs and substance temptations and too much partying. After two years he decided to transfer to Columbia in New York City where he reunited with his favorite sister Auma Obama; from his Fathers second marriage. Note: In his memoir Barack seems to omit some of his Father's marriages and children at this stage of his life but towards the end of the book during his long visit to Kenya he manages to tie all the loose ends together.
Barack studies hard at Columbia and graduates again with honors in 1983.
Following his matriculation at Columba he is now an attractive,educated young man of 22 in new York City. he doesn't provide many details of the next two years but we can probably fill in the blanks if we need to.
In any event he moves to Chicago in 1985 and plunges head first into Community Organizing. In the projects and tenements of the South Side,
this remarkable man matures into a solid,successful liberal activist. With his Mother's voice constantly in his thoughts he loses any trace of self-pity and embraces who and what he is at this moment rather than dwelling on his past.
For his Point of Embarkation into activism he selects the Altgeld Public Housing Project, one of the largest and most depressive in this turbulent Metropolis.
With dogged determination he establishes relationships with church,local and state government authorities and schools. He studies the workings of the alphabet soup structure of welfare and politics: MET (Mayor's Office of Employment and Training);DCP ( Developing Communities Project);CHA (Chicago Housing Authority)and many others.
He goes into the homes of the residents ,people like Rafiq, Mona, Angela, Mrs Anderson who are frustrated ,despairing inner city leaders.They are wary of him, viewing him as an educated upstart outsider who couldn't possible understand the problems of the projects. His incredible ability to emphasize with their plight finally wears them down. They take him into the inner workings, introducing him to the real powers,political and underground.
NOTE:
In my opinion this is the most important and timely section of Barack's memoir. I suggest that if you intend to work in the General Election as a foot soldier you buy this book and particularly read this section. This gives us the first understanding of why this man may be the transcendant leader we have been waiting for for so long.His special qualities of leadership; empathy,persistence, courage and problem solving through unity are on display here. Read it and then reread it.This section is not an easy read but its worth the struggle.
There is too much meat in the Chicago section of this book for me to properly address it all in a Diary.Just a few references; the problems of churches when the more successful Blacks move to the suburbs; some really inspiring pqages to read: pg 280 first meeting with Rev Wright)
Pgs 295,348,330,278, 233, 212.
Barack leaves Comminity Organizing to enter Harvard where he gains recognition as the first African American Editor Of the Law Review.
When he returns as a full fledged lawyer he sets up shop in the inner city of Chicago to work as an advocate for the oppressed.
The final section of the memoir is the most emotional as this future President of these United States returns to Kenya and seeks his "Roots" with as much determination as in all his other endeavors.
It is difficult for some (like me for example) to identify with so many tribal names as Barack leaves the main roads of Africa and plunges into the deepest,most remote villages seeking out those who knew his Father (Barack Hussein Obama) the best.
You will be absolutely entranced as he meets with aunts and cousins and neighbors who knew his Father,his grandfather,great grandfathers, great great grandfather. Read particularly page 371 about Grandpa Onayango Hussein, a man who "keeps his word." The Obama name is near legendary in these locales.Brave people who have been carving a country, and a continent out of a previously undeveloped area where elephants and lions still rule.
Note all references to specific pages assume you are reading the
paperback version, Three River Press, 2004 edition