What words did President Obama use to recount his African roots in his speech?
Obama invoked his personal story as the first U.S. president of African descent to assert the credibility and legitimacy needed to rail against corruption and violence that have repeatedly set back the continent. ACCRA, Ghana — President Barack Obama used the historic platform of his first speech as president in sub-Saharan Africa to deliver a pointed critique of African governments that no previous American president could have delivered so forcefully. Obama invoked his personal story as the first U.S. president of African descent to assert the credibility and legitimacy needed to rail against corruption and violence that have repeatedly set back the continent. “I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family’s own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story,” Obama said in a speech to Ghana’s parliament and invited guests Saturday. Obama sought to avoid a scolding or patronizing tone, insisting that he was not lecturing his hosts even as he asses
ACCRA, Ghana — President Barack Obama used the historic platform of his first speech as president in sub-Saharan Africa to deliver a pointed critique of African governments that no previous American president could have delivered so forcefully. Obama invoked his personal story as the first U.S. president of African descent to assert the credibility and legitimacy needed to rail against corruption and violence that have repeatedly set back the continent. “I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family’s own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story,” Obama said in a speech to Ghana’s parliament and invited guests Saturday. Obama sought to avoid a scolding or patronizing tone, insisting that he was not lecturing his hosts even as he assessed Africa’s ills and offered a series of prescriptions. “Africa’s future is up to Africans,” Obama said twice in his address. He called for a renewed U.S. partnership with the continent but also stressed the need
