First African American President

[CJCRANE]

186. He's both.

Kenyan-American is a subset of African-American (where African-American is the accepted term for a black American). In the same way, Irish-American is a subset of white American.

It only makes sense to stress that Obama is the first Kenyan-American President if there have been previous black presidents. But there haven't been. The difference from previous presidents is that he's 'black' and the polite term for that is African-American.

Let's imagine that a Tanzanian person of white Swedish heritage becomes President there. He or she will not be known as the first Swedish-Tanzanian President. They would be known as the first white President or the first European-Tanzanian President.

ETA: But I do know what you mean. The definition of "African-American" has become blurred to be a synonym for "black" rather than a more specific definition. The terms "black" and "white" are also pretty vague when you think about.