A
Anonymous
Guest
A significant and understandable fuss has been made about Obama becoming the first African-American president. Obama is arguably not, however, “African-American.” His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was purportedly one-eighth African from his mother’s side (from the Luo tribe in Kenya) and his father’s ancestry is alleged to be Arabic. To the extent that is true, Obama is “Arab-African-American.” Obama is certainly not—like many black Americans—the descendant of African slaves owned by white American slave owners. There is insufficient publicly available evidence to state with certainty the percentages of Obama’s national ancestries, but if he has Arab ancestors Obama is more likely a descendant of slave owners than slaves because for centuries Arabs traditionally owned slaves and were active slave traders. The names “Barack” and “Hussein” are of Arab origin. “Barack” comes from the Arabic “baraka,” meaning “blessed,” and “baraka” means “blessing” in Kiswahili, a common language in Africa. “Hussein,” from the Arabic “Hussayn,” is a diminutive of “Hassan,” meaning “good” or “handsome;” it is a common Muslim name.