In 1961, interracial marriage (or, far worse, cohabitation) would have been a disgrace of devastating proportions for many, if not most, families, black or white. Miscegnation was still at least nominally illegal in much of the country, I believe. Calling the father "African" could have been a gracious attempt by the clerk, or whoever did it, to ease an embarrassing situation.
My birth cit. from many years ago shows my weight at birth.
Some question why the parents religion was not mentioned. Seems back then in 1961 and into later years some states had a law that if a mother was going to give her child up for adoption then the only people that could adopt had to be the same faith as the mother. Something screwy like that, may not have been a law but a policy of adoption agencies at the time. No Catholic Orphanage was about to adopt out a child to a family that were not Catholic.ETC.
As far as the fathers race being put down as African, that is highly unlikely. There is no race called African,
otherwise all Arabs, Whites and Asians born on the Continent would be also called African. We who are born in America do not have American put down as our RACE. A shame ,we could put down White American but the Irish where ever they go for generations would never give up their heritage.
Hawaii is and has been a sophisticated state, they have people from all over the world and have had for century's every kind of race living there. The race issue has people of Japanese, Filipino, Samoan etc listed as they are not lumped in one category ASIAN.
Obamas father at the time was called NEGRO, that was the PC of his time, today we call them blacks unless you belong to the NAACP. Terms for race change every decade or so.
I do remember getting into big trouble when I was a kid back then and coming home to tell my mom a new Black student was in my class. She backed me into a corner and told me that to call someone black was an insult, the proper term was Negro. And to never use the Spanish word for black in slang.
Back then a mother could name anyone as the child's father, no man had to agree or dispute her word.
We are talking over 50 years ago, times for us have changed but the protocol of the time back then remains in history.
My question is why the White House could release this document that is so flawed. Darn I can head to Boston and get for $200 a birth Certificate With a Stamp and Seal on it more authentic then that piece of garbage.
We are being lead off on a Snipe hunt, all this is to cover something much worse, as we concentrate on that BC we are ignoring the really damaging stuff right under our nose. Miss direction, ignore the in your face stuff and never search for the truth outside the direction the magicians point at.