Obama is not the first "Black" President

I found this interesting concerning many past US Presidents.
You kind of have to ask yourselves "Would people have voted for these other Presidents if they knew their family history"?
I believe so!

I am not an Obama supporter ...never was, never will be. Not because of his skin color... but because of his policies.

would I support a "Black" president who stood for MY values..YES


www.diversityinc.com...

Ever since the nation first met Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in 2004, his race has been called into question more times than Michael Jackson's. Obama is clearly a black man, but is this really a breakthrough? Some blacks say Obama isn't "black enough," which seems ironic because for many blacks, former President Bill Clinton was "black enough." In 2001, Clinton was honored as the nation's "first black president" at the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Annual Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C.

Were there other "black" presidents? Some historians have reason to believe people don't really understand the genealogy of past U.S. Presidents. Research shows at least five U.S. presidents had black ancestors and Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president, was considered the first black president, according to historian Leroy Vaughn, author of Black People and Their Place in World History.

Vaughn's research shows Jefferson was not the only former black U.S. president. Who were the others? Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. But why was this unknown? How were they elected president? All five of these presidents never acknowledged their black ancestry.

Jefferson, who served two terms between 1801 and 1809, was described as the "son of a half-breed Indian squaw and a Virginia mulatto father," as stated in Vaughn's findings. Jefferson also was said to have destroyed all documentation attached to his mother, even going to extremes to seize letters written by his mother to other people.

President Andrew Jackson, the nation's seventh president, was in office between 1829 and 1837. Vaughn cites an article written in The Virginia Magazine of History that Jackson was the son of an Irish woman who married a black man. The magazine also stated that Jackson's oldest brother had been sold as a slave.

Lincoln, the nation's 16th president, served between 1861 and 1865. Lincoln was said to have been the illegitimate son of an African man, according to Leroy's findings. Lincoln had very dark skin and coarse hair and his mother allegedly came from an Ethiopian tribe. His heritage fueled so much controversy that Lincoln was nicknamed "Abraham Africanus the First" by his opponents.

President Warren Harding, the 29th president, in office between 1921 and 1923, apparently never denied his ancestry. According to Vaughn, William Chancellor, a professor of economics and politics at Wooster College in Ohio, wrote a book on the Harding family genealogy. Evidently, Harding had black ancestors between both sets of parents. Chancellor also said that Harding attended Iberia College, a school founded to educate fugitive slaves.

Coolidge, the nation's 30th president, served between 1923 and 1929 and supposedly was proud of his heritage. He claimed his mother was dark because of mixed Indian ancestry. Coolidge's mother's maiden name was "Moor" and in Europe the name "Moor" was given to all blacks just as "Negro" was used in America. It later was concluded that Coolidge was part black.

The only difference between Obama and these former presidents is that none of their family histories were fully acknowledged by others. Even though Obama is half-white, he strongly resembles his Kenyan father. And not only is Obama open about his ancestry, most people acknowledge him as a black man, which is why people identify Obama as the first black president of the United States.

[edit on 22-6-2010 by ccsct203]

i LOVE your info.. on a side note, I have had this desire to promote the OBAMA--first half white --- president.. just as a joke to combat all the First Black Garbage.. boy, would I have been an idiot... this is stuff that really will enlighten (if not anger out of shoot the messenger syndrome)

to know other great men have mixed heritage is VERY REFRESHING. the fact of the matter of this being unknown is a downer.. imagine if al shaprtongue or jesse jacka-s knew this?

Hm. I don't want to open a can of worms here, but technically , Obama isn't black.

A baby is assigned the same race as it's mother. His mother is white.

A bi-racial person then has the luxury of choosing which race he/she will identify with throughout life. Obama clearly chose Black, as is evidenced by his choice of marital partner.

I once worked with a woman (as a client) who had previously been a prostitute in NYC. She gave birth to twins, one very white, one very black.
This is a fairly rare occurrence, but can happen if fertilization occurs in a window-time frame, with the sperm contribution of two different people.

Both children were designated as white, based on the mother's race.

So, should there be some type legal definition of race at the current time, Obama would be White.

reply to post by rebeldog


Actually, Obama is black by American standards. Over 60% of American Blacks are of mixed ethnicity. No one is fully "African Black" here in the states (except for immigrants). So with them being completely mixed through the generations and then Obama being of Full Kenyan and Mixed White American origin, we can say that Obama probably has greater "black" genetic traits than most African Americans.

African Americans and Latinos are pretty much completely mixed races.


EDIT: To the OP - Good Information and research

[edit on 22-6-2010 by TheOneElectric]

Omg not another post about Obama being black. You do realize his mother is white. That makes him just as much a WHITE president as it does a black. Also does his color really matter? What matters is how he handles things in this country....and don't get me started on that.

I think you are full of crap. thomas jefferson and everyone else you listed were as white as snow. So they had negro genes.....so freakin what. that does not make you black.

there was a study that said almost all black people living in the united states had white genes inside of them. Thats right...if we went by your and that articles logic all the black people in the united states are really white.

What bullcrap.

I dont mean to come off as racist...but im sick and tired of minorities coming around and trying to lay claim to historical figures and there accomplishments to make themselves feel better. Its the same as black history month...blacks need a freakin month to make themselves feel like they are worthy of existance.

Just look at the link 'black people and there place in history'. Do black people feel the need to somehow justify there existance? Do they feel the need to hop around and say "This historical figure belongs to the black community.....gaze in wonder at our accomplishments".

Im sorry but black folks are coming off a bit insecure dont ya think? It speaks volumes of how blacks think of themselves. You have to essentially use another mans work to wave pom poms for your race to make yourselves feel better.

You dont see white people going around

"Us white people built the modern world......gaze in wonder

Thomas edison-white

George Washington-white

Henry Ford-white

oh....just think of any major invention or accomplishment in the last 2 centuries and they would be white."

You dont see us doing THAT!!

I am NOT an Obama supporter.

I did NOT vote for Obama and I do NOT support any ...any of his policies.
I just HATE when people call people like me racist for not standing behind his socialist policies.
I was pointing out that Obama is nothing great by any standards. There were other "Black" presidents in history.


I think Obama did more harm to the Blacks here in the US then he did good!

One things is certain though....

Obama is not the first bonehead politician with a bad political agenda.

Obama is black? Well shut my mouth. I guess ya still can learn something new every day. And here I was thinking he was white all this time because .. well, you all know why. (grrrr, I hate these kinds of discussions, because I'm colorblind when it comes to people .. is that bad of me? hum?)

Obama may not be the first "Black" President, but he sure will be the last. Obama messed it up for any other blacks seeking the office for a very long time.

Racist???? Blah, blah, blah. It's the truth. The next black candidate will not be able to overcome the dark stain Obama has left on the Presidency, and the comparisions will be inevitable.

OP needs to fact check:

Jeffersons mother was English/Scottish and his father was Welsh.
Both of them were related to European "Gentry" in some shape or form ...exactly the same as every other succesfull political leader in US history.

None of the other Prez's highlighted were conventionally "Black" and this sort of debate highlights just what a big deal someone's skin tone still is in the 21st century so I doubt it would have escaped comentators of the time.

Even if Obama caps the gulf leak, personally negotiates a Middle East peace accord then succesfuly pilots a lone fighter jet against an invading alien horde and saves the world , his wiki entry will still have "First Black President" somehwere in the first line...GUARANTEED.

The very thought of a US president prior to the 60's not being part of an elitist European bloodline is absurd.





[edit on 22-6-2010 by Jukiodone]