He finds that he prefers his father from a distance, though, since the man is overbearing and controlling.Īs Barack grows, he dedicates himself to basketball and makes more Black friends. Meeting his father is a surreal experience Barack is at once terrified and intrigued. Late in the fall, his father sends word that he’s coming to visit Hawaii over Christmas. He is one of only two black kids at his school and his peers are frequently racist.

This feeling persists as Barack returns to Hawaii at age nine.

He begins to suspect that Ann is keeping things from him and that being Black might not be something to be proud of. But when Barack discovers a photograph in Life magazine of a Black man who used skin lightening creams, his world changes forever. She throws herself into teaching him English and making sure that he grows up to be an American who’s proud of his Black heritage. As Ann learns more about Indonesia and her husband, however, she becomes concerned about Barack’s future. Lolo treats Barack like a son and, and Barack turns to Lolo for advice and information about his new home. When Barack is six, Ann marries an Indonesian man, Lolo, and they move to Indonesia. Barack spent his early years feeling loved-it wasn’t until later that he wondered why his father left him. Toot and Gramps are fairly progressive about race and they’re generally kind and adventurous people. Because of this, Barack doesn’t have memories of his father-only fantastical stories of the man’s exploits.ĭespite some initial misgivings, Barack’s white grandparents, Toot and Gramps, approved of Ann’s decision to marry Barack’s father and grew to love their Black son-in-law and biracial grandson. They had Barack in 1961, but Barack’s father left them two years later to attend Harvard and then he returned to Kenya. Barack barely knew his father, who met Barack’s mother Ann when he was studying in Hawaii. At 21, Barack gets a call from his Aunt Jane in Nairobi informing him that his father is dead.

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama