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Finding Aid for the Barack Obama Presidential Election Memorabilia from Kenya, 2008
1831
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Title: Barack Obama Presidential Election Memorabilia from Kenya
Date (inclusive): 2008
Collection number: 1831
Extent:
4 boxes (one document box, one shoe box, and two oversize boxes)
Abstract: On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected president of the United States of America.
Because President Obama's father was from Kenya, Kenyans have closely followed Barack Obama's political career since his election
to the United States Senate in 2004. The collection consists of Kenyan memorabilia commemorating Obama's victory in the United
States 2008 presidential election.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English
and Swahili.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Purchase, 2008. The items in collection were purchased at the request of Ruby Bell-Gam, UCLA's African Studies Bibliographer,
by Pamela Howard-Reguindin, Field Director of the Library of Congress Office in Nairobi, Kenya.
[Identification of item], Barack Obama Presidential Election Memorabilia from Kenya (Collection 1831). Department of Special
Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
6424568
On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected president of the United States of America.
Because President Obama's father was from Kenya, Kenyans have closely followed Barack Obama's political career since his election
to the United States Senate in 2004.
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961 to a Kenyan father and American mother. His parents divorced three years
later, and his father returned to Kenya where he died in 1982. Obama was raised by his mother and her parents. He attended
Columbia University, graduating in 1983 with a B.A. in political science. Two years later he left New York City to work as
a community organizer in Chicago. In 1988, Obama entered Harvard Law School, becoming the first African American president
of the Harvard Law Review in his second year. Upon receiving his law degree in 1991, Obama returned to Chicago, leading a
voter registration drive and teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago. Obama entered the political arena
in 1997, serving in the Illinois State Senate until 2004 when he was elected United States Senator for Illinois.
In February 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States. After almost a year and a half of campaigning,
Obama defeated his rival, Hillary Clinton, in the primary election and was nominated as the Democratic Party's presidential
candidate in August 2008. In the presidential election on November 4, 2008, Obama defeated John McCain, the Republican candidate.
President Obama was sworn into office on January 20, 2009, becoming the forty-fourth president of the United States.
Throughout Obama's political career, Kenyans have shown their pride in his success and historic accomplishments. In addition
to naming schools after him and honoring him in songs and performances, Obama's image and campaign slogans have been portrayed
on Kenyan posters, bumper stickers, billboards, advertisements, t-shirts, and other memorabilia. After the November election
was conceded to Obama, President Kibaki of Kenya declared the next day a national holiday to celebrate the election win.
Memorabilia after November 4, 2008 reflect Obama's victory in the presidential election.
The collection consists of Kenyan memorabilia commemorating Barack Obama's victory in the United States 2008 presidential
election. President Obama's image or references to him are prominently featured on all the items, which include a souvenir
issue of a Kenyan newspaper as well as several articles of clothing such as a baseball cap, t-shirts, and election buttons.
Items of particular note and which are distinctive to the region are a kanga, a bottle of a special edition commemorative
beer, and a rear-view mirror ornament.
The kanga is an East African rectangular cotton textile with a border surrounding a Swahili saying in the center panel. Kanga
have may be used as a skirt, shawl, headdress, or baby sling and are frequently worn to convey a social or political message.
Following Obama's victory, many kangas featured Obama's image and messages of congratulations, good wishes or reaffirmations
of his campaign slogans.
East Africa Breweries Limited created the "Senator" brand of beer when Barack Obama was elected United States Senator in 2004.
After Barack Obama won the presidential election, East Africa Breweries launched the limited edition brand, "President."
Since items were acquired individually, the collection is organized according to format.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Barack Obama.