“Obama brought a hope into the world that I had never seen or experienced before,” the candidate said of changing his name to match the president's
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/barack-d-obama-shaw-barack-obama-060226-a8c33cc51fe443f589819890289639a3.jpg "Barack D. Obama Shaw, Former President Barack Obama")
Credit: Barack D. Obama Shaw/Instagram; Melina Mara / POOL / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A man named Barack D. Obama Shaw is among the 60 candidates running in the election for governor of California
- The candidate legally changed his name in 2013 after former President Barack Obama “brought a hope into the world that I had never seen or experienced before”
- California’s gubernatorial primary election is on Tuesday, June 2
A man named Barack D. Obama Shaw is among the 60 candidates running in the election for governor of California.
Born as Cecil L. Shaw III, the candidate changed his name in 2013 after former President Barack Obama “brought a hope into the world that I had never seen or experienced before,” he stated on his website.
“This was the catalyst that had me legally change my name because I believe that people today need that same type of hope,” he continued. “I am really excited about the opportunity to make a difference in the area of politics.”
While serving in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2008 to 2016, Shaw told Spectrum News that it made him “proud” to stand at attention and see a picture of the former president hanging on the wall in front of him.
Credit: Melina Mara / POOL / AFP via Getty
“He made it happen that a person like me could become president,” he told the outlet. "And the word on the street was it's not going to happen in our lifetime.”
While his peers used to call him Denzel Washington after high school, Shaw's nickname slowly evolved until it became what it is now.
"Rappers always have some kind of handle. Superheroes too. Names they go by that aren't their real names,” he told Newsweek. "When I got out of high school people used to say to me ‘You remind me of Denzel Washington.' "
"Later on it became Barack Obama," he continued. "I wanted a uniform that didn't come off, something that's was going to remind me of the new me: a person of hope, a person of music, a person of leadership."
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Credit: Barack D. Obama Shaw/Instagram
Beyond seeing his name change as a representation of hope, Shaw told Spectrum News that it ultimately “represents Obama, Denzel, my father, my grandfather and myself.”
“If you really want the future to be better you really have to go out there and create it,” he said.
Shaw went on to explain that he is running for California governor because he identifies as a man who “believes in” himself and is “willing to take risks.” Still, he emphasized that all the credit should be given to the former president for paving the way.
“Barack Obama is the superhero,” he said. “I'm the guy wearing his suit that's me. I'm the one that has the privilege that carries that banner around.”