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Obama: 'Blood of Africa' in Me

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 11, 2009 9:55 AM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama today warned Africans that corruption and strong-arm tactics must be overcome if the continent is to see prosperity, and he promised US support to nations on the right path, Politico reports. “America will be with you,” Obama said in Ghana. “As a partner. As a friend.” (He also dusted off his campaign theme, "Yes you can," for his hosts.) The president highlighted the connection between the two with his own history. The “blood of Africa” is “within me,” he said.

Obama spoke of his father, who “came of age at an extraordinary moment of promise for Africa,” and “the struggles of his own father’s generation,” and drew a lesson. “Africa's future is up to Africans,” but the US will not stand idly by. “We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't.” Obama said he came to Ghana because “the 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra as well.”

President Barack Obama addresses the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra.
President Barack Obama addresses the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra.   (AP Photo)
President Barack Obama speaks to the Ghana Parliament in Accra.
President Barack Obama speaks to the Ghana Parliament in Accra.   (AP Photo)
President Obama greets the crowd after he addressed the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra.
President Obama greets the crowd after he addressed the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President greets the crowd in Accra.
President greets the crowd in Accra.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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My father grew up herding goats in a tiny village, an impossible distance away from the American universities where he would come to get an education. He came of age at an extraordinary moment of promise for Africa. - Barack Obama

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
justme
Jul 12, 2009 12:48 PM CDT
Gee. Did Obama give a speech without apologizing for something?
JonmarkP
Jul 11, 2009 11:33 AM CDT
The blood of Africa will be ON you, Obama, if you don't get the US pharmaceutical companies under control.
Mr.C
Jul 11, 2009 10:09 AM CDT
Politico is a crappy news source, but I don't they'd be ****ing you.

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