As a good friend said yesterday to Polimom, Kenyans greeted US Senator Barack Obama as a rock star:
KISUMU, Kenya (CNN) — Tens of thousands of Kenyans lined the streets of Kisumu on Saturday, giving U.S. Sen. Barack Obama a hero’s welcome as he arrived to visit the nearby village where his late father and grandfather lived.
Massive crowds screamed “Obama, Obama” and waved flags emblazoned with his name and face, as the 45-year-old junior senator from Illinois rode through the streets in a truck flanked by a lengthy convoy.
Hoping to leverage his status, Senator Obama and his wife publicly took an AIDS test to inspire others… but he never lost sight of who he represents:
Since his election, many in poor Kogelo village have been creating a to-do-list of projects he can fund. But Obama — whose first name Barack means “blessed” in Swahili — has tried to dampen expectations of what he can provide.
“I think people understand that I am the senator from Illinois, not the senator from Kogelo,” he said.
The village of Obama’s father is understandably — and justifiably — proud of their son, but oddly, my friend’s tone was slightly disapproving, leading Polimom to ask whether he understood what was going on there.
It turns out that this friend, based on scanned headlines, saw Senator Obama’s visit to that very small village as an Alex Haley-inspired photo-op by an aspiring politician. He thought Obama was sensationalizing a return to his “ancestral roots”.
Ancestors? Roots?
Ummmm…. Polimom’s father is not the first person who comes to mind when I think of my ancestors, or my grandfather either. In fact, my African ancestors are at least seven generations removed; if I ever manage to make the direct connection to some small, poor village there, nobody will know my name.
And that’s okay. My accomplishments belong me, my family, and America, alone.
Barack Obama is the native son of two continents and a man whose success and achievements can be appreciated by everyone. Anywhere.
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