DEAR ABBY: Why is President Barack Obama considered to be African-American? Isn't he bi-racial? -- WONDERING IN GOLDSBORO, N.C.
DEAR WONDERING: He is both. The term African-American is used in this country as a label that describes skin color -- although in President Obama's case he is literally African-American because his father was an African from Kenya, and his mother was an American from Kansas. However, the term bi-racial is equally accurate because it describes mixed-race ancestry.