Introduction

In reviewing data from a national study, conducted in May 2009, of mothers and their feelings about the candidacy of Barack Obama for President, we saw a narrative emerge about his identity as a mixed race African American. Some of the mothers who responded themselves identify as mixed race, others identify as the mothers of mixed race children, and still others see Obama's mixed race identity as a metaphor for healing the racialized fissures in U.S. political and social culture and for mending the relationship of the United States with the international community. Mothers surveyed identified with Obama personally—especially if they were also mixed race—but they also identified with him as a member of a family. Thus, as one white 55-year-old with three grown children from Pennsylvania wrote so eloquently, they embraced the idea that Obama's daughters, “those two little girls running around on the White House lawn[,] will change the soul and heart of America.” It is this hope that shines through the comments made by these Obama Mamas.

The original aims of this national study included a) examining reasons why mothers became supporters of Barack Obama, b) identifying how mothers involved themselves in the Obama campaign, c) understanding how mothers engaged others, including their children, in their support of Obama, and d) understanding their concerns for their children and the hopes they placed in the Obama presidency. What this self-selected group of women expressed were their concerns about race and race relations, and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States. For many mothers, Obama's candidacy represented a hope of healing the racial, economic, and political divisions within the U.S., and also between the U.S. and other nations.

Methodology

Data collection commenced during Mother's Day weekend, and continued from May 9 to 31 2008. Prospective participants were emailed a letter inviting them to take part in surveys. Identified as a Barack Obama supporter, the co-investigator, Grace J. Yoo, registered with the Barack Obama website and then, through the website, sent an invitation to several email networks including 34 networks focused on Obama Mama networks, seven Women for Obama networks, two Parents for Obama networks, and four more general and ethnic specific networks.