Even though many have been focusing on Obama's endeavors to secure the hispanic vote, his campaign is reaching out to the Asian American community as well, and his Asian half sister is stepping up to the plate.
Meet Maya Soetoro-Ng. She and Barack share the same mom. Barack's mom was married to an Indonesian businessman, and they both (Barack & Maya) lived in Jakarta. Seotoro-Ng's husband is Chinese-Canadian. She teaches at an all-girls school in Hawaii.
Initially, as the campaign focused on fighting out the primaries, state by state, "the idea was to downplay to some degree race and ethnicity," said Soetoro-Ng in an interview with The Associated Press. "A lot of the emphasis had been on reaching out, making connections, closing the gaps."
That theme resonated among Obama supporters of all backgrounds, said Soetoro-Ng, who is nine years younger than Obama and considers him "the strong male force" in her life after her parents' divorce.
That theme resonated among Obama supporters of all backgrounds, said Soetoro-Ng, who is nine years younger than Obama and considers him "the strong male force" in her life after her parents' divorce.
It was with Obama she attended her first blues concert and her first voter registration drive, she said. The two remain close: She was there when Obama's oldest daughter, Malia, 9, was born, and plans to help celebrate her 10th birthday on the 4th of July, on the campaign trail. Soetoro-Ng's appearances give voters a chance to get to know Obama as a person, not just an elected official. Her stories illustrate the development of his character, from his days as a teenager who loved basketball and bodysurfing and didn't always get the strongest grades, to his growing sense of civic duty in the summers she spent with him in Chicago.
To many, Obama's Asian-American half-sister represents yet another aspect of Obama's identity that makes him unique as a presidential candidate, although it has been underplayed amid the excitement surrounding his shot at becoming the first black president.
"It would be the first time that the first family is comprised in part of Asian-Americans _ as well as African-Americans, of course," said Keith Kamisugi, a coordinator with Asian-Americans for Obama. (source)
You know, many American families are not homogeneous. I have a bunch of Chinese, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Irish, Portuguese, and African American 1st cousins, to name a few, so to me his family make up is quite the norm. Rep for your brother Maya!!!!
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Flava reppin' the global Hip Hop movement!
Posted by Nikki Strong
