It was his countenance of seriousness that riveted my attention and those of millions watching Tuesday as President Barack Obama (ah it feels good when I type those words on my computer) ascended to the presidency.
I watched the Inauguration, inside one of the oldest African-American churches in Indiana, Indianapolis’ Second Baptist Church. The church exploded with cheers and applause when they first saw Barack Obama’s serious stride as he walked alone through the bowels of the Capitol heading towards his date with destiny.
The church sanctuary was packed; mostly Black, but with some whites. Young people, working people, small children and senior citizens were ready to witness history.
Mayor Greg Ballard made a surprise appearance, and graciously compared Barack Obama to John F. Kennedy; saying anyone who wasn’t “taking the time to watch this was making a mistake.”
During the two year campaign, the Obama movement always exceeded expectations by attracting diverse crowds, utilizing modern technology, energizing and activating young people and engaging America and the world as never before.
The result was Tuesday when two million huddled in the cold of Washington. Plus hundreds of millions worldwide in workplaces, schools, outdoor plazas, union halls, town and village squares, stores, hotel lobbies and numerous gathering places watched and listened as history was made.
Inside Second Baptist Church the cheers were as loud as the multitudes on the Washington Mall when Obama finished the oath and was proclaimed president.
Tears flowed. Folks hugged. Unbelievably wide smiles on everyone.
Watching a lady dance a dance of joy and happiness, I wondered if that’s how our ancestors acted when they learned that President Abraham Lincoln had just freed them?
The Obama Inauguration was elegant, yet simple, respectful of the past and encouraging the future.
Many on the left were outraged that Pastor Rick Warren was chosen to give the invocation. But to those watching at Second Baptist Church, and to this observer, Pastor Warren’s invocation was excellent, inclusionary, respectful of America’s faith traditions.
If Warren was the Billy Graham surrogate of this Inaugural, then Dr. Joseph Lowery’s superlative benediction represented Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the lions of the Civil Rights Era never participated in a Presidential Inaugural.
The Inaugural music and those performing it were majestic and magnificent. The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin rose to the occasion, both musically and sartorially, wearing a church hat that African-American church women will be copying for years to come.
The Inaugural centerpiece of course was President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address. It was one of the shortest (18 minutes), but what it lacked in longevity, it made up in bold statements for Americans and those around the world.
President Obama struck a strong tone saying, “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.”
Our new president challenged his fellow citizens; “(O)ur time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
President Obama challenged the orthodoxy of liberalism, questioning the role of government today.
“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified,” said the president.
“Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”
President Obama sent a clear signal to Wall Street and corporate America, “The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.”
As his predecessor sat nearby, President Obama repudiated Bush’s world view of the last eight years.
“As for our common defense,” Obama declared, “we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.”
And America’s 44th president laid down the law to the world’s dictators, despots and dangers, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
Then a president that broke barriers of race and history, challenged us all to break barriers ourselves.
“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility,” said the chief executive. “A recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.”
History has been made. Barriers have been broken. Our President is saying let’s move from “Yes We Can” to “Let’s Get To Work.”
See ‘ya in week two of the Obama Era!
Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. You can contact him at (317) 221-0915 or by e-mail at ACBROWN@AOL.COM.
