Skip to content
GIVING DAY is APRIL 11. But you can make a gift now to support CSSH students and programs!
Connect
Stories

Obama and Kenya: Contested Histories and the Politics of Belonging | Kate Luongo

People in this story

Kate Luongo, Associate Professor of History

Barack Obama’s political ascendancy has focused considerable global attention on the history of Kenya generally and the history of the Luo community particularly. From politicos populating the blogosphere and bookshelves in the U.S and Kenya, to tourists traipsing through Obama’s ancestral home, a variety of groups have mobilized new readings of Kenya’s past in service of their own ends.

Through narratives placing Obama into a simplified, sweeping narrative of anticolonial barbarism and postcolonial “tribal” violence, the story of the United States president’s nuanced relationship to Kenya has been lost amid stereotypical portrayals of Africa. At the same time, Kenyan state officials have aimed to weave Obama into the contested narrative of Kenyan nationhood.

More Stories

2023 CSSH Outstanding Staff Awards

03.30.2023

‘We have to do this. We absolutely have to.’ Jehovah’s Witness who grew up in Nazi Germany emphasizes need to remember and reflect on the Holocaust

03.29.2023
Northeastern logo

2023 Excellence in Work to Foster Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Awards

03.30.23
All Stories