Written by Peter Firstbrook
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 160 Kbps

The most famous family in Kenya—and, indeed, the world—provides the context for exploring the broader history of that nation as documentary filmmaker Firstbrook explores the Obama family legacy. He draws on academic historical research as well as oral history and interviews to trace Barack Obama’s family history back 23 generations. Part of the Luo, the second largest tribe in Kenya (following the Kikuyu), the Obama family traversed through several ancestral lands before religion (some were Seventh-Day Adventists, and others were Muslims) and distance separated them into the towns of Kendu Bay and K’ogelo. He highlights Obama’s paternal grandfather, Onyango, who traveled beyond the ancestral lands, prospered, fought in two world wars, and witnessed bloody revolt against British colonialism as well as Kenyan independence. His son, Barack, similarly restless and ambitious, was educated in Hawaii (where he met President Obama’s mother) and the continental U.S. before returning home to continue straddling tribal tradition and the demands of modern Western culture. Obama senior was critical of the government and friendly with Tom Mboya, an activist, who was killed during the Jomo Kenyatta administration, adding to suspicion later when Obama was killed in a car accident. Enhanced with maps and photographs, this is an epic look at the history of a nation and a family. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The story of Barack Obama’s Kenyan roots, this title is the product of dozens of interviews with Obama’s African relatives, presented by the first person to trace Obama’s family history back 400 years and 23 generations.