So like everyone else I watched the Inauguration all day while entertaing the idea of Daniel one day being the first "Asian" president. LOL. So, I found it interesting that everyone keep saying our first "black" president. That people felt that "finally there's a black man in the white houese" and that "we're making progress racially as a nation, race will no longer be such an issue, etc, etc, etc". But how true is this? Have we really progressed racially?

First Obama might not be the "first" black president. It's long been rumored that Abraham Lincoln might have had some black in him . Which could futher be argued that Obama is not out first bi-racial president. Which I've noticed was a fact majorly downplayed by the media. The fact that Obama had a white mother, asian stepfather, hapa sister and a diverse cultural background was on no channel I could find. To be fair, maybe I missed something while switching channels but I doubt it.

Adding to this none of the Inauguration "guest commentors" included these facts either. The most I could find that even hinted at Obamas diversity was a float from Hawii and a photo highlight of his school years in Hawii. Both ridiclously brief and if you were channel surfing you would have missed them. Sadly, they did make a comment about his middle name and his influence within the muslim community and what they might mean *rolling my eyes*. But leave it to Obama to make his history know by doing something that might seem insignificant but made a large statement in my mind. He did a "shaka", a common greeting in hawii. My man did not forget his roots and culture. I can respect a man like that.

I can't help feeling it was a media blackout (pun intended) about his bi-racial background. So while it's of course great to have a minority president, the issue that he's being boxed in as being only "black" shows we're not as racially progressive as it all might seem. Maybe by the time Daniel is ready to run for president racial issues might be further along on the road of not being racial "issues".

Later Edit: I found a news article that addressed this issue.

Nation’s Many Faces in Extended First Family
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21family.htm(link opens in new window)

Credit for the photos highlighted in the blog is all theirs, but literal witty writing is all mine :)