It’s official: Obama makes history
Dr. Sonya Willis, Public Education & Equity
SERVICE TO OTHERS: LIFE’S MOST REWARDING PURPOSE, by Dr. Sonya Willis
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Some time ago, I made a decision to make my life count for something. That decision held significant meaning for me because it meant making a conscious effort to do things in my life that would truly matter or make a difference, not just to me but to others as well. In making this decision, my life began to change. I actually found more joy, peace and excitement in my life than ever before. Some might see my life as one of service. When asked, I simply tell people that I attempt to live my purpose every day that it is God’s will to do so. Simply stated, my purpose is to be a voice for young people who might not otherwise have one to represent them. To clearly define this purpose has added new passion to my life.
On January 19, 2009, I boarded a 737 jet to Washington, DC to witness the historic presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. On that day, my purpose was clear. I must make this journey to experience this moment in history for all of my students who have depended on me and trusted me to be there for them. Of course I traveled to Washington for my own personal reasons, but I was there representing all of my students and cheering for the expectation and promise of change for their lives.Etched in my mind is the black and white film footage of Martin Luther King, Jr. as he proclaimed in 1963, “I Have a Dream” at the National Mall in Washington. Every time I have seen a still or moving picture of this historic event, I thought to myself that if I had been old enough to participate in that occasion, I most certainly would have been there. In my heart, I knew I would have had to be there. Obama’s inauguration transfixed me in that same commitment to transform the status quo and celebrate with other people who are willing to fight for change. And so I flew to Washington, DC for the purpose of bringing the excitement, experience and message that change begins with each one of us. The actual journey to the National Mall began with my two cousins and me pulling on layers and layers of clothes—Gor-Tex gear, long johns, fleece, hooded sweatshirts, wool socks and heat pads for our hands and feet. We were loaded down with bottled water, peanut butter sandwiches and cameras, but nothing could be carried in a bag for security reasons. I was so loaded down by my layers of clothing that it was difficult for me to walk, but it was a day for walking and standing in bitter cold temperatures.
After driving to the subway station and waiting two and a half hours in line for the hour-long subway ride into Washington, we stepped off the subway into the underground station. We stood, thousands deep, in that dark, underground station for another hour, packed shoulder to shoulder before we were allowed to take the escalators up to street level where we would begin our three-and-a-half hour trek toward the National Mall. Unlike the Middle Passage journey from Africa to the United States, which was cloaked in anger and fear, our middle passage experience was drenched in joy and hope. And because of that joy and hope, no one complained about waiting in long lines, being too cold, getting overheated while we waited underground or having to walk great distances to reach our destination. All of us were clearly there for something bigger than ourselves. As we got closer to the National Mall, we began to hear the Marine Corp Band playing. We just had to get past the security checkpoints. This was no easy task because the crowd, estimated at approximately two million, was so immense. Eventually we managed to get past the checkpoints after being rerouted numerous times to different gates, but we would not give up. After getting onto the Mall, we stood and waited, tired from the walking, which seemed endless. My legs were aching and my feet were extremely tired. I did not know if I could continue to stand up, but the word “purpose” kept running through my mind.
Strength found me, because I know I sure did not find it. For the first time, I felt the cold wind, but only because my cousins and I had finally stopped walking. I placed new heat pads into my shoes and gloves, ate a peanut butter sandwich and drank just enough water to address my thirst, but not enough to make me have to use the disgusting port-a-potty. Once I attended to my physical needs, my excitement started building. It was such an awesome feeling to hear the music of the Marine Corp Band and to see the West Front of the United States Capitol draped with vertically hanging flags. I wondered how many people in the crowd knew that slaves helped build that magnificent building. The Secret Service and Homeland Security was on full patrol, guarding the full two-mile length of the Mall and the airspace directly above. However, it was even more awesome to be celebrating this event 80 years and five days after the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. I told my cousins that I could not have missed this inauguration for anything in the world. Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts Gates, Jr. was announced to swear in Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. We cheered, but it was a controlled cheer because we wanted him to be sworn in immediately. We had waited long enough. So we stopped cheering quickly. I felt warm and I felt like my body was radiating that heat to those around me. I felt anxious. I wondered what could possibly happen to mess this up now. Now there is a thought. What if something did happen to Barack Obama before he could actually take office.
There is an answer to that question. According to White House press secretary Dana Perino, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates had been designated successor to the president-elect if anything happens to Obama on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, January 20. This precautionary plan is made by the outgoing administration with the concurrence of the incoming administration to ensure continuity of government. Chief Justice Gates stood up. And there he was. Barack Obama stood up. Michelle Obama stood up and their smiling faces were on the jumbo screen. The first couple looked calm, but the crowd was not calm. We were almost there. How about this black man who grew up with no father but with a steadfast dream of doing great things? Obama looked presidential and the look in his eyes seemed to be saying, “Let’s do this because I am ready to get to work.” I looked around and I saw a number of women clutching their hands to their chests, waiting to explode and knowing that the real explosion of joy was only seconds away, if nothing went wrong.
President-elect Obama raised his right hand and placed his left hand on the bible his wife was holding and smiled. He was ready. We were ready. Chief Justice Gates began the oath. “I Barack Hussein Obama do swear…” Obama hesitated. Clearly their speak-and-repeat rhythm was off. Fact: Obama had memorized his lines. Fact: This was the first time Chief Justice Gates had sworn in a president. Unaware of these facts, wondered why this process was dotted with stops and starts when the oath consists of only 35 words and the recitation of Vice President Biden’s oath went so smoothly. The crowd was silent and waiting. Had Obama made an error? Had the chief justice made an error? Because we were spectators, we did not know that Chief Justice Gates had actually jumbled the words of the oath by speaking the word “faithfully” out of its correct order in the oath. Eventually they managed to get a rhythm going between themselves, and as quickly as the administration of the oath began, it ended. Little did we know in the massive crowd that the oath itself is somewhat of a formality because it is written in the United State Constitution that the President-Elect officially becomes the President at 12:00 p.m. So when we saw Obama’s right hand go down, a smile sweep over his face and him shaking hands with Chief Justice Roberts, we screamed. We waved flags. We cried. We hugged each other. We jumped up and down. Some people held on to each other as if the moment had caused them to be light-headed.
In this very moment I was jolted back to my purpose for attending this event, which was to experience this moment for all of my students who could not be here, and I vowed to myself to take this moment in time and its meaning back to them so that they could comprehend its significance. And even though in the back of my mind, the delivery of that oath bothered me, I knew that this was such an incredible moment to be alive. In his inaugural address President Obama called it “a moment that will define a generation.”President Obama’s inaugural address carried many powerful messages. He had a message for countries around the world and he had a clear message for Americans who were used to sitting back and complaining that the country owed them something. He was no longer trying to convince us he was the man for the job. President Obama was now informing the world that this was a new and different day and reaping different ends will mean utilizing different means. He assured us that our challenges will be met but not until “we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin the work of remaking America.”
To other countries, his words were direct. “America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity. And we are ready to lead once more…We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waiver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocence, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us and we will defeat you.” President Obama’s words to Americans were just as direct and just as challenging. He exclaimed, “The world has changed and we must change with it” He encouraged us all to return to a spirit of service, which is a sprit that must ignite within us a “willingness to find meaning in something greater than [ourselves]… And it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and the determination of the American people upon which this nation relies…those values upon which our success depends: honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism… have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, 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. This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence…This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed…and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.”
At this point in this inaugural address, everyone cheered because President Obama is a symbol not only of how far this nation has come from such a horrific past, but this man has actually suffered the pains of what it has meant to walk around this country in the skin of a black man. Other presidents have been able to speak about the brutality and wrongness of slavery, racism and discrimination, but never before had a man who looked like us, accompanied by a family who looked like many of our families, stood before us as our president. Just having a president with a real comprehension of “race” in America held so much meaning for us all. With Obama as our president, huge decisions that will impact future generations will be made with a new and more realistic understanding of how people exist in this country.Even more meaningful to us all was this black man’s willingness to live a life of service to this country that had once enslaved his ancestors. If they had not seen the news or read the newspaper, very few people in the crowd knew that President Obama spent the eve of his inauguration in service to the Washington, DC, Community. Along with local high school students, President Obama painted walls at the Sasha Bruce House, which is a home for homeless and runaway youths. At RFK stadium, Michelle Obama prepared care packages for U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. We could look at this man and know that none of us were above the responsibility of service to one another.
After President Obama’s address, much of the crowd began to leave the Mall area and that was a poor choice because they missed some thoughtful words from Elizabeth Alexander. Her poem, “Praise Song For the Day” expressed exactly the tone for the day. “Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce…Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day…Some live by ‘Love thy neighbor as thy self.‘ Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need. What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.” As the crowd looked down the National Mall, past the Reflecting Pool, a widening pool of light is exactly what we saw as the sun shone on the water. There has been no more exciting day than this day because we were all surrounded by love. And the proof of this love rested in the fact that there were no arrests and no negative incidents among the two million people that attended this event. What if the mightiest word truly is love? What a concept.
Reverend, Doctor Joseph E. Lowery, a civil rights activist who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights era, delivered a powerful benediction that ultimately brought a smile to President Obama face. Co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership (SCLC) with King and one of Ebony magazine’s 15 greatest black preachers, Lowery prayed to God that all of us recognize this new beginning and to make the choice to “turn to each other rather than on each other.” He continued to pray, “In the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when Black will not be asked to get back; when Brown can stick around; when yellow will be mellow; when the red band can get ahead man; and white will embrace what is right. Let all those who will do justice and love mercy say amen, amen and amen.”
I thought this was the oddest way to end a benediction as I stood there with my eyes closed, but the more I thought about it as we walked another three hours to get back to the subway station, the more appropriate Lowery’s words seemed. He took us back to a time when Black, Brown, Yellow, Red and White people could not stand together and with his rhyming words, he challenged us to continue to find strength in our uniqueness and find humor in our very-day lives. I could live with that idea and I smiled to myself as we stood on the subway, heading back to the hotel. I took great care and time writing this special inaugural article because this event on January 20, 2009 deserved no less than my best writing effort. I will never forget this day as long as I live, and I realized how blessed I am to have the opportunity to attend it, especially with my two cousins who are fairly new additions to my life. As I stated earlier, since I have discovered my purpose in life, my experiences have been full of joy, peace and excitement. This trip to Washington, DC was joyous. It was peaceful in the midst of two million people. And it was so very exciting to be a part of history. If the readers of this article could not be there, I tried to give you the next best thing—a real life account of this very special day.
To all of my kids, this article is written specifically for you. This was my purpose. I challenge you to learn from it; to become better citizens because of it and feel the pride of being part of a generation that elected its first Black President of the United States.
Dr. Sonya Willis is the education columnist for “Mass Appeal News.” She welcomes your comments at Dr.SonyaWillis@yahoo.com
To see President Obama’s inauguration speech, click the play arrow.