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4 Barack Obama The only time that Toot could remember Obama Sr. ever being embar- rassed was at his induction into the prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, at the University of Hawaii. Obama Sr. showed up to accept this great honor in blue jeans and an animal-print shirt, while other attendees dressed in tuxedos. Obama Sr. had a deep baritone voice, great oratory skills, and regal aura even in the face of racism. On one occasion, Obama Sr. and Gramps went to a restaurant and encountered a white patron who did not like black people. This man exclaimed loudly that he did not want a black person to sit next to him. He even used a racial epithet. Instead of exacting violence on the customer, Obama Sr. approached the man and launched into lecture on self-respect, human rights, and the ills of racism. After this compelling and convincing lecture, the man felt so guilty that he gave Obama Sr. one hundred dollars. This incident confirmed the confidence of Obama Sr. He exuded confi- dence in all matters his maternal grandfather advised young Barack to embrace this quality if he wanted to be successful. While the stories of Obama’s exploits grew to mythical proportions, his grandfather served as Barack’s surrogate father. In the absence of Barack’s biological father, his grandfather attempted to fill this void. He made cer- tain Barack knew he was unique, a special person. He even stretched the truth to ensure young Barack had healthy self-esteem and grew to be as confident as his biological father. Young Barack was a novelty in Hawaii. Barack Obama Sr. The father of the first African American president of the United States, Barack Obama Sr. was a native of Kenya. As a young child, he went to the vil- lage school, where he immediately was acknowledged for his strong math- ematics skills. These early skills would assist him in pursuing a career as an economist. In 1959, Obama Sr. went to study at the University of Hawaii, where he stood out for his impeccable dress and his public speaking skills. A year after he enrolled at the University of Hawaii, he met Stanley Ann Dun- ham, a white seventeen-year-old girl who was originally from Kansas. After dating Obama for a short period, Dunham gave birth to Barack Obama Jr. on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama Sr. left a year later to attend Har- vard University for a graduate fellowship in economics. In 1964, Dunham filed for divorce. Obama Sr. returned to Kenya, which had just gained its independ- ence from England. He got a job in management with a private company and eventually worked in the public sector in Kenya. The last time the future presi- dent saw his father was when he was ten years old, when Obama Sr. returned to the United States in 1971. In 1982, Obama Sr. was killed in a car accident. He was forty-six years old at the time of his death.