A Toast to Mixed Race Global Babies and Everyone in Between

Picture by Emmauel Dunand

Amongst my inner or outer circle, it has been no secret that I am a big Barack Obama supporter. This past Tuesday evening, I sat in front of the television, glued to the screen as Obama's delegate count continued to rise. At around 7PM (PST), I watched with many others in the U.S. and around the world, history in the making as the first ever mixed-race, third culture kid (TCK, or 'global baby,' as I like to call it) became the Democratic nominee for president.

Of course, that term was not used by the media. In the U.S., the focus was on how he is the first African-American candidate to become leader of a major political party (Democrat or Republican). That is a gargantuan feat - made all the more poignant by the fact that on August 28th, 2008 when Obama officially receives the Democratic nomination at the convention in Colorado, it will be exactly 45 years to the day that Martin Luther King Jr. made his "I have a dream" speech. The magnitude and import of this moment could not be more pronounced. In this world, so filled with racial, ethnic divisions, another wall has finally been torn down.

My initial interest in Obama arose from the fact that he, like me, is a product of multiple cultures, ethnicities and is bi-racial. He has lived internationally as a child (which is what defines a TCK) - and as a result his message has always been more encompassing. I don't think any other candidate has peaked such interest and admiration globally. For some, he was the underdog whose father was from a third-world country - and that garnered him a lot of support around the world.

Although, not frequently mentioned, Obama is also part white. He has a half Asian sister. His entire family is such a blend of cultures, religions and ethnicities, that so many people, can see a part of them in his success. For the first time for me, someone with a globally mixed hodgepodge background like mine is a stone's throw from becoming the leader of the world's most powerful country. That gives me reason to celebrate and hope. After 8 years of purgatory, we will finally be free of George W. Bush's hostile and narrow-sighted "us versus them" cowboy diplomacy as he exits the White House and rides off into the Texan sunset. And in its place, we will have with Obama, greater global cooperation and understanding and - eloquence!

In the Los Angeles Times today, in an article on international perspectives on Obama's nomination - they wrote, "For many, Obama's rise is a global event regardless of the outcome in November." Quoting David Lammy, a British lawmaker, they wrote, "I'm hugely aware of what his achievements mean for the wider world, way beyond America." The editorial of the Khaleej Times, very aptly described it when they wrote "If McCain is America's past, Obama is its future."