--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first thing I ever heard about Barack…" description: "\"The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who informed me of this sp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/shelby-steele-3370_barack-obama_the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barac_337523.png" --- # The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that… ![“The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who informed me of this spoke only matter-of-factly, with no hint of the gossip's wicked delight.” quote by Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/shelby-steele-3370_barack-obama_the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barac_337523.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/shelby-steele-3370_barack-obama_the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barac_337523.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/shelby-steele-3370_barack-obama_the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barac_337523.png) > “The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who informed me of this spoke only matter-of-factly, with no hint of the gossip's wicked delight.” [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker notes Obama’s mixed heritage, delivered without sensationalism, highlighting factual reporting. **In simple terms:** Obama’s parents were of different races. Key Takeaway Note factual background. Themes race identity media Mood analytical neutral Type expository informative When to use this quote - political commentary - biographical writing Key Concepts racial dynamics public perception Questions to Reflect On - How does neutral tone affect perception? - Why is factual reporting important? A Different Perspective None; ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barack obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack-obama/) [Black Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-father-1977611/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip/) [Heard Barack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard-barack-3144061/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Obama White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obama-white-1732070/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Person Informed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-informed-3144062/) ## Related quotes > [When I first heard that Barack Obama was going to be the first black president, I wanted to do the smallest, biggest tribute in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-wigan/when-i-first-heard-that-barack-obama-was-going-to-be-the-first-black/) [Willard Wigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-wigan/) > [If President Barack Obama had not been in the White House, we would not have the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/if-president-barack-obama-had-not-been-in-the-white-house-we-would/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Who cares if a movie star has an opinion unless the person is very well informed?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-lamb/who-cares-if-a-movie-star-has-an-opinion-unless-the-person-is-very/) [Brian Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-lamb/) > [Really, an historic night last night. You may have heard, Barack Obama will be the first black president of the United States of America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/really-an-historic-night-last-night-you-may-have-heard-barack-obama/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [I'm every father. I'm not only a black father. I'm a white father. I'm a Chinese father. I'm a Mexican father. I'm all fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-witherspoon/i-m-every-father-i-m-not-only-a-black-father-i-m-a-white-father-i-m-a/) [John Witherspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-witherspoon/) > [My mother is black and my father is Filipino. I got the best of both worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-ventura/my-mother-is-black-and-my-father-is-filipino-i-got-the-best-of-both/) [Cassie Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassie-ventura/) > [It's very necessary, showing the positive aspect of a black father. We see a lot of black women being the head of the household…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nafessa-williams/it-s-very-necessary-showing-the-positive-aspect-of-a-black-father-we/) [Nafessa Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nafessa-williams/) > [My family is part Creole, and were Indian, and were also very, very black. My father was so black, he was blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merry-clayton/my-family-is-part-creole-and-were-indian-and-were-also-very-very/) [Merry Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merry-clayton/) > [If Obama was white, he’d be up by 17 points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/if-obama-was-white-he-d-be-up-by-17-points/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-ferraro/if-obama-was-a-white-man-he-would-not-be-in-this-position/) [Geraldine Ferraro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-ferraro/) > [If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-ferraro/if-obama-was-a-white-man-he-would-not-be-in-this-position-and-if-he/) [Geraldine Ferraro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-ferraro/) > [The ties between the Obama White House and the hip-hop community are genuine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-ties-between-the-obama-white-house-and-the-hip-hop-community-are/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“As a brand, the Obama White House’s identity is probably closest to Starbucks: hip, progressive, approachable —a small luxury you can feel good about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/as-a-brand-the-obama-white-house-s-identity-is-probably-closest-to/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [As a man of colour, I've spent my life asking people to see me for who I am. With Obama in the White House,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-fishburne/as-a-man-of-colour-i-ve-spent-my-life-asking-people-to-see-me-for-who/) [Laurence Fishburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-fishburne/) > [In 2008, Barack Obama did a phenomenal job of reaching out to minority groups, to younger people, and a lot of newer voters, Hispanics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/in-2008-barack-obama-did-a-phenomenal-job-of-reaching-out-to-minority/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) ## More by Shelby Steele > [When blacks become humanly visible, when their true beliefs are known, their mask shatters and their symbiotic bond with whites is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/when-blacks-become-humanly-visible-when-their-true-beliefs-are-known/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [I alienated myself from the academic world almost entirely because it's a left-wing world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/i-alienated-myself-from-the-academic-world-almost-entirely-because-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Freedom is just freedom. It is a condition, not an agent of change. It does not develop or uplift those who win it. Freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/freedom-is-just-freedom-it-is-a-condition-not-an-agent-of-change-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [In Vietnam, America fought one whose communism was driven by an underlying nationalism, the desire to live free of the West. Whatever one may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/in-vietnam-america-fought-one-whose-communism-was-driven-by-an/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [No doubt Israel and America have made mistakes in the Middle East. Certainly, Israel was born at the price of considerable dislocation and suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/no-doubt-israel-and-america-have-made-mistakes-in-the-middle-east/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [And if you want to make many of our black leaders angry, just tell them that racism is not the number problem that black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/and-if-you-want-to-make-many-of-our-black-leaders-angry-just-tell/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Thomas Sowell, among many others, has articulated the power of individual responsibility as an antidote to black poverty for over 40 years. Black thinkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/thomas-sowell-among-many-others-has-articulated-the-power-of/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot write a timeless letter to us from a Birmingham jail or walk, as John Lewis did in 1965,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/jesse-jackson-and-al-sharpton-cannot-write-a-timeless-letter-to-us/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [My father bought three ramshackle houses, rebuilt them, rented them out, kept clawing his way up the ladder. A man with a third grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/my-father-bought-three-ramshackle-houses-rebuilt-them-rented-them-out/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Whatever I'm doing, I try to write well. I try to give the reader a nice, clean well-written surface, where the writing is transparent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/whatever-i-m-doing-i-try-to-write-well-i-try-to-give-the-reader-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [We have laws on the books. If somebody's discriminating against you, I strongly advocate suing them. That's the most effective thing you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/we-have-laws-on-the-books-if-somebody-s-discriminating-against-you-i/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/racism-is-endemic-to-the-human-condition-just-as-stupidity-is-we-will/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Without an ugly America to loathe, there is no automatic esteem to receive. Thus liberalism's unrelenting current of anti-Americanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/without-an-ugly-america-to-loathe-there-is-no-automatic-esteem-to/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Opportunity follows struggle. It follows effort. It follows hard work. It doesn't come before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/opportunity-follows-struggle-it-follows-effort-it-follows-hard-work/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) [Explore all 132 Shelby Steele quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## More Barack obama quotes > [In 2008, Barack Obama did a phenomenal job of reaching out to minority groups, to younger people, and a lot of newer voters, Hispanics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/in-2008-barack-obama-did-a-phenomenal-job-of-reaching-out-to-minority/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [As a Democrat following the 2012 presidential election closely, I was happy to see that South Carolina voted overwhelmingly for Newt Gingrich, a candidate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-schlossberg/as-a-democrat-following-the-2012-presidential-election-closely-i-was/) [Jack Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-schlossberg/) > [Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and now I am a reluctant groom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/just-like-barack-obama-my-views-on-gay-marriage-have-evolved-and-now/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [It has been my honor to support and work with President Barack Obama, a man who has brought courage and character to the presidency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/it-has-been-my-honor-to-support-and-work-with-president-barack-obama/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [When the 2008 victory of Barack Obama and the defeat of grumpy old John McCain began looking, um, inevitable, I started fielding inquiries about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/when-the-2008-victory-of-barack-obama-and-the-defeat-of-grumpy-old/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [President Barack Obama is a doer. And we in America will do big things with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hunt/president-barack-obama-is-a-doer-and-we-in-america-will-do-big-things/) [Jim Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hunt/) > [“Been living on this earth for so long now and still don't know what a happy life feels like. I'm ready for a change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-anthony-burkett/been-living-on-this-earth-for-so-long-now-and-still-don-t-know-what-a/) [Jonathan Anthony Burkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-anthony-burkett/) > [“Attacking a lightning rod doesn't make you lightning..." Regarding Barack Obama”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-rafael-cimino/attacking-a-lightning-rod-doesn-t-make-you-lightning-regarding-barack/) [T. Rafael Cimino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-rafael-cimino/) > [Tell me why the limousine fleet has increased by 42 percent since Barack Obama took office. Why are we spending taxpayers' money on that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-neumann/tell-me-why-the-limousine-fleet-has-increased-by-42-percent-since/) [Mark Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-neumann/) > [Trudeau, like President Barack Obama, is a champion of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/trudeau-like-president-barack-obama-is-a-champion-of-change/) [Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/) > [There is the bipartisan pretense that the FBI is the only government agency in Washington that is above reproach. Yet, this is the agency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-fitton/there-is-the-bipartisan-pretense-that-the-fbi-is-the-only-government/) [Tom Fitton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-fitton/) > [Income inequality has gotten worse under President Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/income-inequality-has-gotten-worse-under-president-barack-obama/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [For even the most seasoned observers of American politics, Barack Obama is a phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lammy/for-even-the-most-seasoned-observers-of-american-politics-barack/) [David Lammy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lammy/) > [When Caroline Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 as her father's rightful heir, she laid upon him the mantle of Camelot and the enduring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-kelley/when-caroline-kennedy-endorsed-barack-obama-in-2008-as-her-father-s/) [Kitty Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-kelley/) [Browse all 363 Barack obama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack-obama/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. 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