Gloria Borland recalls her childhood in Hawaii and her upbringing as a student at Radford High School, which led to her attending college at George Washington University. There, she volunteered with the Congressional Women's Caucus and was introduced to politics in Washington, D.C. She remembers her early entrepreneurial days starting a travel industry magazine, which allowed her to travel worldwid e. As a Black woman raised in Hawaii who had worked in Washington D.C., Borland saw how the concept of aloha shaped Obama. Borland discusses the making of her documentary film about President Barack Obama, interviewing friends, classmates, family members, and members of the Unitarian Church. She connects the progressive politics of Hawaii in the 1970s around the Native Hawaiian Renaissance, women's movements, healthcare, and anti-nuclear war as all influential to Obama's politics. Borland emphasizes the role that Obama's mother played in his upbringing and discusses other influential Hawaii politicians such as Patsy Mink and Daniel Inouye
Presidents--United States; Women independent filmmakers; Hawaii Politics and government; Borland, Gloria; Obama, Barack; Mink, Patsy T., 1927-2002; Inouye, Daniel K., 1924-2012; Dunham, S. Ann (Stanley Ann); Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
71 pages
Note (Biographical)
Gloria Borland is a media entrepreneur born in Kodiak, Alaska. She currently resides between Washington, D.C., and Hawaii. At age 21, Gloria became the youngest woman to found a travel industry magazine, which allowed her to travel and experience livi ng in 70 countries around the world. She founded Global Village Network, a cable television channel in Washington, D.C., bringing international programming from Japan and Europe. Borland is working on a documentary film about President Obama's life in Hawaii
Note
Interviewed by Dr. Davianna McGregor and Landon Tom on Thursday, July 7, 2022. This interview is part of the University of Hawai'i: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Gloria Borland, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022