Obama Talks Race, Calls Himself a ‘Mixed Kid From Hawaii’

While the comments may seem ordinary they're not. The last time the President addressed race was at the height of the Trayvon Martin media coverage in March.

By Jorge Rivas Sep 13, 2012

Lately it’s been a rare occurrence when President Obama talks race but at a campaign stop in Colorado Wednesday he mentioned it and even identified himself as mixed-raced. "Education was a gateway for opportunity for me, let’s face it, as a mixed kid from Hawaii born to a single-mom, it’s not likely to become President of the United States," Obama told supporters at a campaign stop Golden, CO. The President was delivering a speech on how education can be a gateway of opportunity. "A little black girl from the south side of Chicago, who’s mom is a secretary and dad is a blue collar worker, is not likely to become First Lady of the United States but it happens because she got a great education," the President went on to say. While the comments may seem ordinary they’re not. The last time the President addressed race was at the height of the Trayvon Martin media coverage in March and he didn’t actually use the words "race" or "black," instead he went with ["If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon."](http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/23/2709583/president-trayvon-case-a-tragedy.html#storylink=cpy) More recently. Colorlines.com’s economic justice blogger Imara Jones pointed out President Obama didn’t mention race in his Democratic National Convention speech even though the [he has a plan to end the Depression-level unemployment amongst black and Latinos.](https://colorlines.com/archives/2012/09/poverty_stuck_at_highest_level_in_almost_two_decades.html) [Jones says Obama is going to have to start mentioning race if he wants those groups to come out to the polls and vote come November. ](https://colorlines.com/archives/2012/09/the_real_invisible_obama_shows_up_on_race_and_the_economy.html) "The bottom line is that in order to remain in the White House, the president needs to give this community [Latinos] a reason to show up at the polls. The number one issue for Latinos, like all Americans, is jobs and the economy."