Accra, Aug. 28, GNA - Mr Donald Tietelbaum, United States Ambassador to Ghana, observed on Thursday that the election of President Barack Obama, the country's 44th President, is an indication that America has begun to live up to its ideals that all men are created equal.

He said even though the issue of racism still mattered, it was much less, explaining that the average young American citizen, black or white, will not think about the fact that the country had an African-American president. "They only think of him as the President." Mr Teitelbaum said this at the first ever book discussion held by the Embassy in Accra. The discussion centred on the book entitled "Dreams from My Father," written by President Barack Obama on the subject of racism and inheritance.

The book describes the life of Barack Obama and the dilemma he went through in an effort to know who his father was, and what it meant for him to have an African father.

The U.S. Ambassador said Americans were fast becoming a post racial people, and that it was only stereotype that made people think that black people were bad or white people were bad. He said, "You don't have to hate all white people, there are some who love you and you don't have to hate all black people, there are some who really love you."

Mr Teitelbaum commended Ghanaians for the strong sense of pride they had in themselves, explaining that even though former President John Jerry Rawlings was half Ghanaian and half European, he had never heard any Ghanaian making a statement to the fact that he was not a true Ghanaian.

Participants at the function, who discussed portions of the book, said it was important that Ghanaians and Africans as a whole learnt from the story of Obama and believed in themselves, have confidence in themselves and in their capabilities.

Anas Aremeyaw Anas, an investigative journalist who led the discussions, shared his experiences and encouraged Ghanaians not to lose hope and not to be easily discouraged in whatever good thing they were doing.

He urged young Ghanaians to be involved and committed to helping the poor and vulnerable in society, saying "change must begin with you." 28 Aug. 09