“Dreams From My Father,” written by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States and the first African-American president, is a story of race and inheritance in which Obama’s family is forced to witness opposing and dividing aspects of America. The former president discusses his childhood and life in America, including experiences in his life that shaped who he is as a person today. Obama’s grandparents (on his mother’s side) were Whites who showed basic human decency toward Black people, which was disapproved of by their Texas town. Even though they were not racists, they were still new with the prospect of interracial marriage, especially after learning that their daughter was dating Obama’s father, a black man. Despite the fact that equality was not a widespread philosophy in America, the Obama family embraced it. Obama, the child born out of that interracial union, serves as a symbolic surrender to the Obama family as a whole, in the sense that they not only opposed racism but also supported interracial marriages. To summarize, one vision was that of a patriotic citizen who embraced the usual ideals of America (racism), while the other vision was that of a non-racist citizen. Obama effectively divided these two worlds by forcing his family to take a formal stand against racism, despite the fact that they had never embraced either side and interacted in both.

The following is a piece of the text that I found interesting: “…a white man abruptly announced to the bartender, loudly enough for everyone to hear, that he shouldn’t have to drink good liquor “next to a nigger.” The room fell quiet and people turned to my father, expecting a fight. Instead, my father stood up, walked over to the man, smiled, and proceeded to lecture him about the folly of bigotry, the promise of the American dream, and the universal rights of man.” I found this passage to be intriguing since, as stated in the text, most people would have anticipated Obama’s father to fight in response to the White man being racist towards him, but instead he educates the racist. In my judgment, Barack chose a more calm and sophisticated approach of responding to the prejudices and prejudice directed at him.