AN AFROCENTRIC ANALYSIS OF THE ORATORY OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: SYMBOLIC METAPHORS IN TEXT AND PERSON A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Aaron X. Smith May 2015 Examining Committee Members: Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, Advisory Chair, Africology and African American Studies Dr. Ama Mazama, Africology and African American Studies Dr. Kimani Nehusi, Africology and African American Studies Dr. Zizwe Poe, External Member, Lincoln University ABSTRACT This dissertation examines President Barack Obama as a symbol and his rhetoric through an Afrocentric analytical lens. The problem that prompted my research was the current process (and future probability) of President Barack Obama's image and legacy being drastically revised from the current perceptions held by most who observe him daily. In this study, the researcher utilized an empirical, symbolic, and rhetorical approach to conduct an Afrocentric data analysis. This process included a review of the foundational terms and concepts utilized to express the Afrocentric idea (including Afrocentricity, location, and agency), and ultimately led to new concepts, analytical tools, and theories based on the evidence manifested over the course this study. This text represents an attempt to seize the magnitude of the “Democratic day” that Barack Obama was elected in a way that it could strengthen understanding of the Afrocentric idea. Based upon the analytical foundation of Afrocentricity I presented a methodology described as Beneficial Extraction method that will highlight the information, examples, strategies and attributes that can be utilized, salvaged and implemented for the uplift of African people. My findings include, the need for an increase in the appreciation for incremental progress in the African/African American community and the need to refine the ability to recognize and benefit from multiple and diverse methods of struggle throughout the African Diaspora. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Asante Sana! Thank you to The Creator! Thank you to the ancestors! It takes a village to raise a student from candidacy to PhD. My village was extremely knowledgeable, helpful, dedicated and resourceful! To my family who never let their bewilderment about my never-ending educational pursuits deter them from assisting me. Thank you to my wife Davitra Smith for enduring this process with me. Words can't describe the love I will always have for you. To my children, Jeniece Yevette Marie Smith and Bakari Ade Xavier Smith, you inspire me to higher heights of joy and responsibility! Let this document serve as a written testament to the potential to overcome many forms of adversity, Daddy loves you! To Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, I humbly and sincerely thank you. It is with all due humility, sincerity and exhalation that I confess; I would not be here without your love, guidance, support and incomparable academic example! I pledge my undying, unshakeable loyalty and support to you, your family, your institutions, your intellectual ideas and your international legacy! To Dr. Ama Mazama, I extend my heartfelt appreciation for your brutal honesty and fearless approach to rebuking the numerous opponents of African self-determination! Your embodiment of a powerful, intellectual, spiritual, working woman who highly esteems her family and loves being black, displays an awe inspiring balance that has motivated and inspired me throughout this dissertation process. ii To Dr. Kimani Nehusi, the depth of your wisdom, your candor and challenging analysis has provided me with a unique opportunity to grow and enrich my research in ways I would not have possibly experienced without your involvement and support. To Tammey Abner, you have been a friend, sister, mother, assistant and guidance counselor throughout my Graduate experience, for your support of the Department of Africology and students throughout the University, I thank you, we did it! Thank you Pastor James S. Hall, the Hall family and the Triumph Baptist Church. To the members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, our course speeds on its way! Thank you to the members of Herbert E. Millen Lodge #151, more light. To my Montclair New Jersey and my North Philadelphia families thank you. To Temple University, the place that I have spent the majority of my academic and biological life, the place above all others that I call home, thank you for the learning, the lessons and the love. Ashe! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. ii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE.................................................................................................10 3. AFRICAN GEOGRAPHY VS. AFRICAN GEOPOLITICS: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SPEECH IN TANZANIA........................................................................................................52 4. BARACK OBAMA AND BLACK AUDIENCES AND BLACK AGENCY: THE MOREHOUSE COMMENCEMENT SPEECH .....................................................................86 5. PRESENTING A FUTURE HISTORY MAKER: OPTIMISM, IDENTITY AND POWER: BARACK OBAMA'S 2009 INAUGURAL ADDRESS........................................................117 6. POLITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON RACE AND RACISM: “A MORE PERFECT UNION” SPEECH .................................................................................................................................141 7. IF I HAD A SON, OBAMA SPEAKS TO BLACK MALES: BARACK OBAMA BROTHER’S KEEPER INITIATIVE....................................................................................162 8. THE BENEFICIAL EXTRACTION METHOD....................................................................183 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................241 iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The overwhelming Black voter turnout for President Barack Obama during both the 2008 and 2012 election cycles and the potential to harness the power of this collective action for a more lasting and meaningful purpose indicated a need for further research on the topic. This dissertation locates, analyzes, interrogates, and contrasts the political rhetoric and symbolism of President Barack Obama within the context of the Afrocentric Paradigm for the awakening and strengthening of African-centered consciousness. Data indicates that President Obama, like most Black leaders, has experienced the marginalization of his missions and the “lightening” of his legacy, which has reduced his effectiveness while making his efforts more palatable for White society. The Problems Two specific problems dictated the direction of this research project. The first problem has historic roots that span several millennia and the second was influenced by the historic election that brought the United States its first African American president. 1.) If the current mainstream academic traditions continue, Historians will drastically revise President Barack Obama's image and legacy from the current perceptions held by the individuals who observe him daily. 2.) Racial dilemmas oppressing African people have been documented since the first outsiders invaders traveled into Africa. A blend of insecurity, jealousy, greed, and fear in the minds of Europeans has forged and fueled a tumultuous relationship with African people. Despite the clashes and contrasts of these two drastically different cultures and ways of interpreting reality, the two factions must interact along these ideological fault lines on a daily basis. 1 This reality prompted the researcher to seize the magnitude of the democratic day in a way that it could strengthen the general understanding of the Afrocentric idea, even though the subject of this study comes replete with Eurocentric overtones of conquest and individualism. There are three primary reasons to analyze the rhetoric of President Barack Obama: 1. He has an international influence; 2. He occupies a position of political prominence. 3. He possesses widely heralded rhetorical capabilities (according to his political supporters and opposition alike). Regardless of where people stand on different political issues, there is general agreement that he is a charismatic, persuasive, and effective orator. The timing, theme, and energetic thrust of an oral presentation delivered through the spirit of a capable presenter can alter international policy (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech 1963), or promote international intolerance (e.g., Hitler’s speech at Munich on July 28, 1922). This rhetorical reality requires that the speaker have an understanding of their personal and presentational place in time and space in order to make history, define the present, and help shape the future with their words. President Barack Obama’s two successful Presidential campaigns are evidence that he has achieved some success with finding a historical and rhetorical balance. The researcher has compiled numerous sources utilized throughout this study that helped to inform and support the arguments and analysis therein. In Speech Criticism: The Development of Standards for Rhetorical Appraisal, Lester