What Makes Obama Black?--By Daryl C. Hannah

Since President Barack Obama stepped onto the political main stage, his race has been in question--perhaps even more than his political leanings. In fact, his ability to captivate audiences with his sense of compassion, his sensitivity to America's problems and his victory over Sen. John McCain were all nearly overshadowed by questions of race--undoubtedly egged on by the media. Would Barack Obama be the nation's first Black president?

Let me answer this question once and for all: No.

Throughout history, races have intermixed to create America. And by the biological process of mating and child bearing, America has had, technically speaking, five "Black" presidents: Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. But that's where their "Blackness" ends.

You see, each of these men grew up in an era when having "Black blood" carried a negative social connotation--and for many others, being Black carried a death sentence. As a result of these societal pressures, these five former presidents chose to hide their African ancestry, and most even helped facilitate the enslavement of, or discrimination against, other groups.

When Republican leaders called on Harding to deny his "Negro history," he refused, saying: "How should I know whether or not one of my ancestors might have jumped the fence?"

It's faulty to assume that because each of these men had "Black blood"--a factor of biological happenstance--they understood what it's like to be a Black man in America, judged solely on skin color, or that they understood what it means to feel the need to work ten times as hard as his white counterpart to merely be viewed as equal. Or to have serious identity questions.

Being Black in America means more than just having Black blood. It's more than having African ancestry or than being able to recite dates in history. Being a Black man in America means being viewed by society as inferior or lesser than others.

Obama understands this.

Having been raised by a single white mother and his white maternal grandparents, Obama dealt regularly with interpersonal issues surrounding his race. Abandoned by his Kenyan father, Obama regularly grappled with his identity, turning to drugs to "push questions of who I was out of my mind," as he has said himself.

In addition to his internal struggles, Obama had to brave white society and corporate America and understands having to explain that Black people are not cannibals or genetically predisposed to evil. He understands what it's like to be called a "coon" or having to say to someone: "No, you may not touch my hair!"

Obama looks at healthcare and incarceration statistics and feels what many of us "progressive" Black men feel--shame and a sense of injustice.

Today, there are major discrepancies in the healthcare and incarceration systems. In fact, the Pew Center on States estimates that 1 in every 15 Black men is incarcerated. When the study looked at Black men ages 20--34, the incarceration rate jumped 40 percent to 1 in every 9, compared to 1 in every 106 white men.

It's more than his half-ancestry that makes Obama a Black man and invariably our first Black president. It's impossible to have one without the other.

While we may never settle the politically and racially charged debate surrounding Obama's ethnicity, one thing is clear: To me, as a 20-something who grew up as the only Black person in advanced-level classes, who went to a top university and who still is looked at as a criminal, President Barack Obama is our nation's first Black president.