In December 2006, I had the pleasure (privilege? honor? misfortune?) to spend some time in Kenya meeting and avoiding eye contact with other writers. You know… Kenya! That country in eastern Africa where Obama’s dad was born. Lots of folks there were excited about Barack and his prospects of becoming president — way before the U.S. of A. felt the full force of Obamania, and one year before Kenya’s elections brought out the best in ethnic violence. You know how in the U.S. Obama represents a minority demographic and so his election looks like a great triumph over prejudice and a victory for the little guy/gal? Similar thing for Kenyans, because Obama’s dad (and hence Barry himself) is a member of the Luo ethnic group, while it’s been the Kikuyu group who have dominated Kenyan politics since independence in 1963. I wasn’t in a position to be thinking too critically about anything (except maybe my own writing) while I was there, but fortunately there were and are people willing and able to cut through the myths. This article was written by one of them, in response to Obama’s inauguration. The writer is a pretty chill guy, to whom I am eternally grateful for hanging out with me even though I am spoiled, white, American, “impossible to engage in conversation,” and perennially “young and confused.” He cares enough to tell the truth. I still owe him a drink [and a story I think?], but until one of us makes it across the Atlantic, plugging his work is the best I can do. Bonus points for the use of “parsing” in the article’s title.
February 7, 2009...6:05 pm
“A Report from Kenya: Parsing a Native Son”
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