By Barack Obama
Hennepin County Library paperback 442 pages
Published: 1995, 2004
Genre: Non-fiction, memoir
Obama is a very good writer. There was a lot to this book and it took me a while to read it even though I enjoyed it. I can't relate to so much of his story - biracial (it makes me wonder . . . he identifies as black, but his mom was white . . . why?), abandoned by his father, growing up in non-traditional places (Indonesia) and ways (living with grandparents). But I think most humans can relate to the "Who am I?" and "Where do I belong?" questions. It's interesting how his family call(ed) him "Barry."
Page 21 - Referring to his white grandmother -
"According to her, the word racism wasn't even in their vocabulary back then. 'Your grandfather and I just figured we should treat people decently, Bar. That's all.'"
I love how he distinguishes between some of his grandfather's stories (and their probable change of perspective over time) from his grandmother's stories. His grandfather makes me think of my own dad and even my father-in-law!
"She's wise that way, my grandmother, suspicious of overwrought sentiments or overblown claims, content with common sense. Which is why I tend to trust her account of events; it corresponds to what I know about my grandfather, his tendency to rewrite his history to conform with the image he wished for himself."
Page 110-111. There is so much about these pages! His language - "I rose from the couch and opened my front door, the pent-up smoke trailing me out of the room like a spirit." The second full paragraph - those lessons learned in youth. The commonalities of human brokenness. Last sentences - "My identity might begin with the fact of my race, but it didn't, couldn't end there."
Page 153 - There were a lot of different people in this book and I didn't keep track of them all, but I really liked Will. This section jumped out at me.
"'A lot of black folks in the church get mixed up in middle-class attitudes,' Will said. 'Think that as long as they follow the letter of Scripture, they don't need to follow the spirit. Instead of reaching out to people who are hurting, they make them feel unwelcome. They look at people funny unless they're wearing the right clothes to mass, talk proper and all that. They figure they're comfortable, so why put themselves out. Well, Christ ain't about comfort, is he? He preached a social gospel. Took his message to the weak. The downtrodden. And that's exactly what I tell some of these middle-class Negroes whenever I stand up on Sunday. Tell 'em what they don't wanna hear.'"
There were a lot of places in the book where believers shared their faith with Obama, but he continued to rely on his own intelligence, strength, and decisions. I still liked him as president!
Page 194 - This also jumped out at me. Meeting basic needs is an important starting point.
"Perhaps with more self-esteem fewer blacks would be poor, I thought to myself, but I had no doubt that poverty did nothing for our self-esteem. Better to concentrate on the things we might all agree on. Give that black man some tangible skills and a job. Teach that black child reading and arithmetic in a safe, well-funded school. With the basics taken care of, each of us could search for our own sense of self-worth."
Page 226 - Will again, talking with Obama about frustration after a disappointment in community organizing (before Mayor Washington's death), makes me smile.
"Will shrugged. 'I think you're just trying to do a good job. But I also think you ain't never satisfied. You want everything to happen fast. Like you got something to prove out here.'
'I'm not trying to prove anything, Will.' I started the car and began to pull away, but not fast enough to avoid hearing Will's parting words.
'You don't have to prove nothing to us, Barack. We love you, man. Jesus loves you!'"
Page 279 - He's in Chicago, but getting ready to visit Africa and then start law school at Harvard.
"It required faith. I glanced up now at the small, second-story window of the church, imagining the old pastor inside, drafting his sermon for the week. Where did your faith come from? he had asked. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't have an answer. Perhaps, still, I had faith in myself. But faith in one's self was never enough."
That's so true! For all of us - whether we realize it or not. We weren't created to do life solo . . .
Page 284 - I realize that in 2021, Reverend Wright has a different media profile than when Obama wrote this book. Wright was / is part of Obama's life and history, and it's interesting to get this look at their initial conversations.
"'Life's not safe for a black man in this country, Barack. Never has been. Probably never will be.'"
Sadly, I think Reverend Wright is correct. I am hopeful that as things have changed, they will continue to change. I recognize that the color of my skin means my life is easier in America.
Page 292 - Obama was at a church service and Rev. Wright's sermon title was . . . "The Audacity of Hope!" I had already thought about reading that book (Obama's second) and now I'm even more curious! As part of the sermon, Wright said:
"It is this world, a world where cruise ships throw away more food in a day than most residents of Port-au-Prince see in a year, where white folks' greed runs a world in need, apartheid in one hemisphere, apathy in another hemisphere . . . That's the world!"
The part about the cruise ships and Haiti . . . that really gets me.
Page 311 - I love that he shared so much about his trip to Africa, meeting his extended family members, and learning more about his heritage.
"Here the world was black, and so you were just you; you could discover all those things that were unique to your life without living a lie or committing betrayal."
Again, I can't truly "relate" to his experience, but I think of how infrequently I am in a minority. I can't imagine being black in Jordan or New Prague. In places where nearly everyone is white, how "outside" I would feel if I were black. This book gave me lots of food for thought. I still really like Barack Obama and think he was a fantastic president. I miss his leadership. I wish that he would be receptive to the gospel message. Think of what he could do if he were following Jesus!
