<Begin Segment 25>

MA: So I had kind of one last question. I wondered what you thought about President Obama, the election of Obama and what you think that signifies for race in this country.

YK: Okay. Well, I can realize that for black people, it must have been quite a... what do you call it? Something to celebrate. The first black president of the United States. And I'm sure that President Obama, even to have run for president, had to have a pretty good political record. But I think Obama was in a position where he knew he had to be careful. He's the first black. He cannot be too radical, he had to satisfy a lot of people, he is going to try to be as progressive as he could without scaring American people. So that American people would not think that he is a president who could be threatening to the American ways. And he's going to, he knew he's going to be watched closely. And how he performs is going to, I think, decide whether white America will want other people of color as the head of their country. There are many Americans who are not too keen about "colored people" advancing as they are. But, of course, there are also people of color who feel that America must start changing some of her history. And so it's going to be very interesting, but I do not think Obama is going to do anything that progressive. He won't be able to. And I think one of the biggest mistakes that he chose was to favor Israel instead of Palestine. I think that's gonna be his biggest, his Waterloo, that from here on, any subject matter about, whether it's the Middle East or just the combination of U.S. and Israel, is gonna cause him a lot of trouble.

But I feel that his wife will probably do more as an American president's wife than any other president's wife has done. Not just because she's black, but just the person she is. I think she's interested in trying to better conditions in America, and she wants to do the right thing. But I wonder, did you see that terrible, terrible article about a Republican who saw her picture and made a remark? He said to the newspaper -- I don't know what newspaper it was in, it could have been in the South, I think it was -- said, he was looking at a picture of Michelle, you know how lovely she is. And this stupid racist said, "Oh, she's a gorilla." And the, what do you call it, the reporter said, "What do you mean, she's a gorilla?" He said, "Can't you see? She's black." I mean, she's black so she, what, that she looks like a gorilla? Can you imagine? And when the guy said, "I don't think that was a very nice thing to say," he said, "Why? Do you think it would hurt anyone's feelings?" How could anyone -- I mean, it was such a horrible thing to say. I hope Michelle never saw that, or no one called her attention to it. And he said, "Oh, I didn't say that to hurt anyone." How can you... imagine saying something like that and saying, "I didn't say it to hurt anyone." Oh my gosh. I mean, it shows, my gosh, that racism certainly is not dead, and Obama is going to have a lot of problems with that issue. It'll be interesting to see how he's going to deal with it.

MA: He's almost in an impossible position, right?

YK: Yeah.

MA: I can't imagine. Because on one hand, his election did signify an advance, right? I mean, to have a black president, but on the other hand, racism is still clearly present and a problem. And so I'm fearful that people will see a black president and say, "Oh, there's no racism anymore," when that's not true.

YK: Yeah. Imagine some blacks even think that kind of thing, "There's a black president." Oh no, it's not going to wipe out racism. But I hope they will see that racism has not been wiped out, and neither have all the things that racism does. But I think that a lot of good things have been happening through the years, and intermarriage is one. I think that's one of the most positive things that's happened. And I don't think anything's gonna stop that. So that's a good sign.

MA: So there has been some progress.

YK: Yes. And I just hope, though, I think the one thing that I don't know if it's possible, but wars have to be banned. We just cannot have these wars go on and on. I mean, the Iraq war has been going on six years. When it first began, I think people thought, "Oh, maybe a year and it'll be over with." But six years, and they said a million Iraqis have been killed. I mean, I don't know how this country could keep up, you know, they're sending more troops to Afghanistan, they don't know what might happen in Iran or Pakistan. And anyway, U.S. even has troops in Africa because of resources, like the Congo diamonds and stuff. I don't know, but Obama has his hands full. And I don't know what his immediate staff is like, but I don't know if his immediate staff is all that progressive.

MA: Well, is there anything else you'd like to share?

YK: What?

MA: Is there anything else you'd like to share?

YK: There was before... I know I'm so much against wars. I mean, the damage it does to land, to people, and the kind of, today, the kind of ammunitions they use or what. I mean, the chemicals, they're poisoning the air, they're poisoning water, the land, I mean, and people keep wondering why more people are getting cancer and newer diseases. I mean, in order to stop that... wars have to be stopped because it's from these chemicals that they're using. Of course, they may be using chemicals even for projects that could be good for the people, but I don't know. Chemicals are very dangerous.

MA: Well, it seems like war, present-day war is rooted in what it always has been, which is racism, imperialism, capitalism. Those things are still the root of a lot of this. And what you've been saying throughout this interview is how important it is for people to know that history, for people to know about racism, the origins of racism and where it comes from. And that's why I think this interview is so important, because I hope people can hear this and hear what you're saying and learn.

YK: Well, I think of course there have been progress, and I do say again that I think intermarriage -- and you're a good example. Okay, I guess that's it.

MA: Well, thank you so much. This has been a real honor, again, to have you here and to talk with you. Thank you.

YK: Thank you. And thank you, Dana.

<End Segment 25> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.