When a friend suggested we go to the inauguration only minutes after the confirmation that President Barack Obama won the election last November, I was totally game.
Since I didn’t make Obama’s first inauguration, I knew I didn’t want to miss history twice.
This week, I and hundreds of thousands of other people were there to watch Obama being sworn into office for a second term. To be part of something so great is truly an indescribable feeling. The thought that kept going through my mind was how I was living history at that exact moment. Years from now when media are showing clips of Obama’s inauguration, I can say I was there. Just as the historic images of Dr. Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, so too will be Obama’s first and second inaugural addresses and I was there. At that precise moment, I was living history. Just as people witnessed significant times and occasions in our history such as the civil rights movement, I am living through a transformative event.
Perhaps the thing that made Obama’s second inaugural address even more significant is that it occurred on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. So, America’s first Black president’s inauguration occurred on a day that reminds us of our fight for equality. Amazing.
Another symbolic aspect of the day was President Obama being sworn in using the Bibles of King and President Abraham Lincoln. This one act was monumental on a couple of different levels. The first being that King’s Bible was included in a presidential inauguration. King was a man, though admired and respected by millions, was also disliked and considered a communist by others. To include his Bible is not only a tremendous sign of respect, but also courageous and bold on Obama’s part. Unfortunately, sometimes when people are placed in high positions, they seem a bit hesitant to publicly support or endorse a particular perspective. Middle of the road is always a safe place for such people. It was refreshing to see Obama pay homage to King in such a manner.
Incorporating King’s and Lincoln’s Bibles in his inauguration was also monumental because it represents something even deeper than the individual men’s lives and respective contributions to society.
Consider the separate type of lives King and Lincoln lived. Consider the state of America during both of those time periods in our history. Now consider how drastically different our world is now. Obama’s simple act is actually incredibly significant because it merges two very different worlds that at the time were represented by two great men whose ideologies would both institute a more progressive America.
At one point in Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech, the charismatic orator said, “There’s nothing false about hope.” I dare to say that both Lincoln and King had tremendous hope for a brighter future in the United States. Their hope was realized that much more during this year’s inauguration.
Though King and Lincoln certainly didn’t achieve such great acclaim on their own, they are reflective of periods of time when our country and world were vastly different than it is now. In an exceptional kind of way, Obama’s efforts during his presidential campaign and his first term as commander-in-chief serve as the culmination of what Lincoln and King probably viewed as “tomorrow’s promise.”
That promise is reflective of all sorts of people representing a multitude of ethnicities, backgrounds and personal experiences.
During my and my friend’s subway ride to Washington, D.C., for the festivities, we saw so many different types of people. There was the young white couple who were so excited they high-fived everyone around them. Then there was the Hispanic man with his two teenaged-sons – one excitedly asking “is this our stop” each time the train reached a new terminal. There were also the three homosexual men, the large church group, and the Asian man who we would later see serving as an official Obama volunteer.
There were so many different types of people there to support one man who has a vision for inclusiveness. So as I was standing among the large crowd of Obama supporters, I was grateful to be part of such an experience. And shortly before our president was introduced, something incredible happened. All those thousands of people, representing such vast backgrounds came together collectively and in solidarity cheering and waving their flags. It was such an awesome sight to witness firsthand.
My hope of true inclusion within America was renewed while observing the ceremony – the sacrifices of so many brought us to that particular moment in time, but we must not rest on our laurels. We must continuously think toward the future and establish ways we can improve. We must determine ways to further create opportunities for all people. The energy felt at the inauguration must be sustained to make King’s dream of true equality a reality.
Congratulations to President Obama on his second term in office and congratulations to all Americans who are helping to move our country forward.
You can email comments to Shannon Williams at shannonw@indyrecorder.com.
