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I Can Relate to Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, A Famous White Man
Apart from my departed father and former President Barack Obama, two individuals of African ancestry who created successful existences in this country, I do not usually admire famous men. This is especially true in 2023, as social media and the twenty-four news cycle remake civil society, giving us a more expansive and in-depth view of prominent individuals. I often do not like what I see.
Ten years have passed since I have seen my father, an unfortunate victim of cancer and kidney disease. Nevertheless, I continue to hold dad in high regard. Because he was able to survive the Biafra, a civil war responsible for the deaths of three million Nigerian people. He fought the war as an infantryman before immigrating to the United States in the eighth decade of the previous century, armed only with his considerable wits and unyielding determination.
And Barack Obama? He was born a crime, a product of miscegenation, a practice considered illegal in some states in 1961, the year Obama was born. Despite significant barriers to success, Obama and my father exceeded expectations, bringing about substantial and measurable change that will influence a significant number of people for many decades to come.
As I am the son of African immigrants, I can relate to Obama, and our shared…
