In the context of how Americans have historically understood the concept of race (e.g. the one-drop rule), he is considered black.
Former NAACP head Walter White could easily "pass" as a white man, but he was likewise considered black by the standards of American society. There's no way Obama could "pass" as white.
The one drop rule is not how Americans view race. It was a law designed to prevent the mixed race offspring from inheriting anything from their white parent. It’s a good example of something that was systemically racist, and only served to hold black people back. But it was made illegal and long time ago. So why are we referencing it in 2023? It only serves to perpetuate racism.
Obama couldn’t pass as black either. In America sure, because we let people self identify regardless of what they look like. Rachel Dolezel was also head of a chapter of the naacp. But if you put him with other Kenyans he sticks out like a sore thumb. Buts that’s ok. The point is he isn’t one or the other, he’s both.
It's true that the average American isn't going to care about determining the exact percentages of "non-white blood" (which is the notion those laws were based on), but in a less literal sense the term still applies: a person with "swarthy" features who is known to have a black parent or black ancestors will generally be taken much more seriously in society identifying as black rather than identifying as white.
Obama "stick[ing] out like a sore thumb" among Kenyans would be relevant if he was in Kenya, but in the United States it matters far more that one of his parents was a black African and that he "looks black" by American standards.
Most people who have even a tiny fraction of POC genes identify with that. Obama is just as much a white guy as he is a black guy, but going with the latter got him more leftist cred and votes.
shareGrowing up, he was raised by his mother and grandmother so he identified as white. It was when he hit college age, and more opportunities were available that he identified as black.
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