With his Kenyan father and white American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta,and his Ivy League education,  奥巴马的父亲来自肯尼亚，母亲为美国白人，他在檀香山和稚加达两地长大，就读于常青藤名校。

　　Obama's early life experiences differ markedly from those of African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement. 他的这些早期经历与在二十世纪六十年代通过民权运动开拓自己事业领域的那些非洲裔美国政界人士明显不同。

　　Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough", Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists  在关于他是否“够黑”这个问题上，奥巴马在全美黑人新闻工作者协会2007年8月的会议上表示，

　　that the debate is not about his physical appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. 这样的争论与他的外表或者他对黑人选民问题的关注并无关系。

　　Obama said that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong." 他说:“我们到现在还在被那个固有的观念所影响，觉得受到白人的认可是不可能的。”

　　Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy,Obama acknowledged his youthful image in an October 2007 campaign speech,saying:  对于自己的年轻形象，奥巴马在2007年10月的一次竟选演讲中引用肯尼迪总统就职演说中的话说:

　　I wouldn't be here if,time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation.   如果不是这个火炬在被一次次地传递到新一代的手上，我不会有这个机会的。