KENYAN-AMERICAN

clipped from www.salon.com Multiracial man The Obama campaign's deft use of the candidate's mixed heritage is making it harder to read his candidacy in terms of race. By James Hannaham Feb. 2, 2008 | In a campaign marked by firsts, this might be one of the most striking: A photo of a young, radiantly smiling, tan-skinned Barack Obama seated in the lap of his late mother, Ann Dunham, who, while dark-haired, is considerably paler than her son. Another first: Earlier this week, Obama traveled to El Dorado, Kan., the home of his maternal grandfather, and in the course of accepting an endorsement from Gov. Kathleen Sibelius, put special emphasis on his connection to the Midwest through his maternal -- that is to say white -- lineage. In a campaign in which he has struggled early on to win the confidence of black Americans and gradually won endorsements from revered black cultural icons like Oprah Winfrey and Toni Morrison, this is one of the riskiest moves Obama has made -- but also one of the most genuine.