At
exactly noon on Jan. 20, 2009, by law, Barack Hussein Obama officially
became the 44th president of the United States. When Obama placed his
hand on the Bible that his political hero, Abraham Lincoln, used in his
swearing-in ceremony, the watchful multitude exhaled and the soul of
Martin Luther King Jr. was finally able to truly rest. It is the
confluence of mutually agreeable circumstances that Obama’s historic
Inauguration would fall on the day after another historic and
transcendent figure was celebrated for making this day possible. King
symbolically held open the door of opportunity long enough for Obama to
traipse through with his signature gait and sweep into the role of the
first African American commander-in-chief in U.S. history.
“I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the
trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors,” the president began while leveling his dark-brown gaze at
the scores of hopeful eyes and expectant faces. “The words have been
spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of
peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds
and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply
because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because ‘We
the People’ have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and
true to our founding documents.”
The ceremony on the west side of the U.S. Capitol was witnessed before
what CNN speculated may have been the largest crowd in the District of
Columbia’s history. Close to two million people of all races and
ethnicities stood together against brutal winter winds at the Mall on
Washington to absorb the atmosphere of this unprecedented occasion. It
culminates a remarkable series of events that brought Obama to this
singular moment in time, taking place 146 years after Lincoln issued
the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. And this brings a
climatic closing to a multiplicity of celebratory galas this past week
designed to usher Obama into office, now the most powerful man in the
world. It was also a day of ironies. The city is now being taken over
by a man who is a member of the race of people who built it and
designed the White House. And, as Obama pointed out, he takes the oath
in the city where, just half a century ago, his Kenyan-born father may
not have been served at local restaurants.
Even as the multitude of millions erupted in unabashed euphoria from
the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, many are still in a state of
disbelief that Obama charged out of a cloud of obscurity just four
years ago to manifest the “Dream” that Dr. King articulated and to
fulfill the prediction that the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy made 40
years ago. He was seemingly chosen for this destiny. Many pundits opine
that Obama was shaped for this time though the circumstances of his
time, his upbringing, his education and his background.
Being
on the receiving end of what Sen. John McCain once described as
“rock-star treatment,” Obama watched as the throng screamed when he
appeared on the steps of the Capitol and openly cried as Obama took to
the podium to deliver his eloquent yet somber address to the nation. It
was a day where hope and uncertainty collided as violently as a car
crash, and it was a day that touched even the most hardened political
operatives. Obama’s contemporaries and adversaries were moved equally
by this day.
“This is such a momentous occasion for all of us: A new generation
taking over, a new president is coming in, a solid team [is] coming in
with him. And he happens to be African American. You can’t ignore that
fact, particularly the day after the holiday that celebrated the life
of Dr. Martin Luther King,” says former Secretary of State Colin
Powell, himself a history making icon. “So, all of us were deeply
touched at the speech that he gave, at the very act of him taking the
oath of office. And looking where I was, up on the stand, looking down
the length of the Mall at a million or 2 million people, it was a
deeply moving experience, and I think the whole country’s going to be
touched by it. And now the difficult work begins tomorrow. And we now
need to come together as a nation and help our new president.”
The nation first helped the president ring in this momentous event with
an endless cavalcade of parties, galas and elegant balls that began on
the Friday before the Inauguration and which will continue on long
after the parade route has been disassembled. Tom Joyner and Cathy
Hughes coalesced for a star-studded tribute at the Lincoln Theater.
Spike Lee hosted a Pepsi-sponsored “Refresh the World” symposium at
Howard University that examined the nation’s future through economic,
political and cultural lenses and featured Roland Martin, Dr. Cornel
West, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sean “Diddy” Combs,
legendary filmmaker George Lucas and Queen Latifah. Tens of thousands
of resplendently dressed citizens flooded the streets of Washington as
they spilled into hundreds of ball parties. That included the Purple
Ball attended by Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey as well as the Home States
balls of Hawaii and Illinois for Obama and Pennsylvania and Delaware
for Vice President Joe Biden.
It
will also be a day of extreme pride and joy for Harvard Law professor
Dr. Charles Ogletree. The African American tenured instructor had the
extremely rare occurrence of teaching both Michelle and Barack Obama
when they were law students [Michelle in 1985; Barack in 1988] at the
Cambridge, Mass., institution. His eyes dampened slightly and his voice
was thickly coated with emotion when he took mental inventory of the
feelings coursing through him on the eve of the Inauguration.
“This is going to be a very emotional day for me. And one minute after
noon tomorrow, I’m going to be able to say — as I said in August when
he was nominated and on Nov. 4 when he won the election and what I’ll
say tomorrow when he’s sworn in — that we’ve done it,” says Ogletree,
who attended Harvard Law School and graduated from Stanford University
with honors. “It’s a great day for Barack and Michelle … and Malia and
Sasha. But it’s an even greater day … not just for America, but the
world. We have a Constitution that didn’t count us. We have a
Declaration of Independence [document] that said,‘We the people’ but
didn’t include slaves or women. And now we’re going to recognize that
‘We the People’ includes Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. It’s a new
day. There’s a new sheriff in town and I’m happy that I’m seeing my
kids, who more than 20 years ago, sat in classrooms trying to figure
out legal problems. On Tuesday, they’ll be sitting in the White House
[solving] America’s problems and the world’s problems. It couldn’t be a
greater day for me.”
It will also be a day of reckoning for those who were charged with
chronicling the illustrious careers of African Americans over the
decades, including Ebony, Essence and Black Enterprise magazines.
“Who among us — especially those of my generation — ever dared believe
that an American of African heritage would ascend to the highest office
in the land in our lifetime?” says Black Enterprise founder Earl
Graves. “The presidential inauguration of Obama is not just about one,
world-changing moment. For African Americans, it marks the birth of a
new movement, one with a simple defining creed: No more excuses. To our
young black men, too many of whom have been allowed to embrace the sin
of low expectation: No more excuses. To black professionals lamenting
racism on the job while worshipping daily at the altar of personal
mediocrity: No more excuses. To those obsessed with the trappings of
wealth yet who refuse to invest in their own financial education or to
exercise fiscal discipline: No more excuses. To those who complain
about the ills of our community but are unwilling to invest their time,
money or energy to bring about solutions: No more excuses.”
Obama supporters swarmed Capitol Hill to retrieve the hottest ticket in
town, a ticket to the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 20. As soon
as the ticket-holders-to-be reached the top of the escalators at the
Metro’s Capitol South station, they were taken aback at the long lines
that greeted them. From the Cannon House office building to Hart South
building, where Obama’s old seventh floor Senate office is located,
people waited in line for as long as three hours. Everyone was elated
and felt that “it was worth the wait.” Some ran around with their
tickets in hand screaming, yelling and laughing like they had just won
the Mega Millions lottery jackpot. Others were more emotional and shed
tears as they celebrated Obama’s swearing in as the 44th president of
the United States as the fulfillment of Dr. King’s “Dream.”
Shortly
after 4 a.m. on Inaugural Day, thousands of individuals began to form
lines outside of the Lincoln Memorial with the hopes of obtaining a
clear view to history. Despite the bone chilling temperatures that
remained in the low 20s, enthusiastic supporters of Barack Obama
gleamed with excitement over the prospect of seeing the swearing-in
ceremony of the first black president. The streets of Washington, D.C.,
began to fill with people who held different religious beliefs,
wide-ranging ages and various nationalities. However, on this morning,
they were bought together by the power of hope and the possibility of
change.
Reactions Around the City
Ohio residents Allison and
Sara, decked out in Obama outerwear, took pictures in front of the
State Capitol and were simply “tickled” that they had reached this
moment and shared, “Ohio State Buckeyes are here to celebrate with
Obama.” –yvette caslin
Nearly one million voices chanted “Yes We Can” and “Yes He Did” as the
National Guard opened the gates to the Lincoln Memorial. Fists were
pumped in the air, enlarged pictures of Obama were held high, kids’
gleamed with inspiration, and proud old black men and women smiled
brighter than the emerging sun. This is what America was meant to be.
This is what the founding fathers proposed for our nation. This is why
Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, Noble Drew Ali, Charles H. Houston, Thurgood
Marshall, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., fought to make a
difference. It has taken over 400 years for the promise of an equal
nation to come to fruition — and more work lies ahead of us, but this
was a big day for America. –amir shaw
The
tears of older black men and women mingled with the cheers of countless
young people, and the [local] crab shack came alive with joy. With each
patron listening intently to Obama’s every word, one couldn’t help but
feel a part of this moment, even though we were miles from the National
Mall. To the elderly woman in the crab shack who reached for me and
wrapped her arms around me, tears streaming down her face, this was our
moment. –gavin philip godfrey
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