Hawaii - Obama Presidency Oral History

To produce the Obama Presidency Oral History, Incite at Columbia University partnered with researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi to conduct interviews related to Barack Obama’s early life and formative experiences, and the impact of Hawai’i on his later political career. 

Narrators in this collection speak widely about Hawaiian politics and history, and illuminate the settings and communities in which Obama was raised. Among other events and themes, they discuss the Punahou School, which Obama attended for middle and high school in the 1970s; the Obama presidency as seen from Hawaiʻi; policy actions relevant to Hawaiʻi; advocacy related to the rights of Native Hawaiians; Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign; and the response in Hawaiʻi to Obama’s election and inauguration.

These stories and dynamics are brought to life by relatives, friends, and teachers, activists and movement leaders, intellectuals and media figures, and elected officeholders. Hear from Hawaiʻi governor Neil Abercrombie, teachers Eric Kusoniki and Pal Eldredge, relatives Maya Soetoro-Ng and Konrad Ng, leaders Avelino Jimeno Halagao Jr. and Kēhaulani Lum, and more.

The Obama Presidency Oral History project’s coverage of Hawaiʻi overlaps and intersects with other topic areas in the collection, including Elections and Campaigns; Democrats; and Climate, Environment, and Energy.