For thousands of Americans, there was only one place to be
| Washington
Even before dawn, the National Mall began filling up with throngs of people 鈥� happy, diverse, supportive 鈥� with no doubt as to why they were there.
The inauguration of Barack Obama was a historic moment, and despite the distance, the hardship, and the bitter cold there was no other place to be.
For some, the day marked a lifetime of protest and hope, a celebration of values they hold dear. For the youngest among them, it was a chance to see something great.
Some faced the day wrapped in fur and leather, others in sweatshirts that barely kept out the cold. What they shared was a sense of the momentousness of the moment.
鈥淚t seemed impossible to stay at home when something so important was going on,鈥� said Lucinda Leach, in from the D.C. suburb of Takoma Park.
After riding in a bus all night, students from New York鈥檚 Daly Day Academy watched the dawn huddled together against the cold on a stone wall in the shadow of the Washington Monument.
鈥淭hey could be sitting at home in a warm, cozy place, but this is history,鈥� said Principal Judy Phillips. The students, ranging from fourth to seventh grade, left home in the Bronx at 11 p.m. and arrived in Washington at 4:30 a.m.
鈥淚 wanted to come. Just the thought of having a black president, it鈥檚 really great for us African-Americans to be looked at in a different way,鈥� said Kwoade Cross, an eighth-grader from Harlem who got to come along at the last minute when his cousin showed up with an extra ticket. 鈥淏ut I didn鈥檛 know it was going to be this cold.鈥�
He tells a story: 鈥淚 was in McDonald鈥檚 and my friend called me the 鈥楴鈥� word, and a man turned around and said: 鈥楧o you know what you鈥檙e saying, young man?鈥� And we said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know.鈥� And he said: 鈥楽lave masters used to call us that because we wouldn鈥檛 amount to nothing,鈥� and I looked around and he was right.
鈥淣ow look at us! Nearly a hundred years later, they can鈥檛 say anything now. We鈥檝e got a black president. The people who still believe that we should be slaves or still be discriminated against, they see now that we鈥檙e not dumb,鈥� he added.
By mid-morning, with hours to go before the president-elect laid a hand on the Lincoln Bible, two-for-$5 handwarmers were circulating faster than bottled water on those scorching days more typical of life on the National Mall. When Lauren Morhand, from Arlington, Va., called out that she was selling the must-have foil packets to raise money for her June wedding, people nearby burst into applause.
Knowing that bridges from Virginia would be closed, Nigel Hutchinson and Esa Martel set their alarms for 2 a.m. to be sure to be on one of the first subway cars to cross the river. Their 11-year-old son, Storm, barely visible through hats and scarves, wasn鈥檛 convinced this was a good idea.
鈥淎t first I didn鈥檛 want to come, but this is interesting. The people are friendly and it鈥檚 a chance to see Barack Obama,鈥� he said, uncovering his nose and mouth only long enough to speak. It was, he said, very cold.
鈥淎s a mother of a mixed-race child, this day is special to me,鈥� said his mother. 鈥淚nstead of them being looked down on, it shows that the world is coming around to accepting people.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a start,鈥� said husband Nigel, a project manager for a telecom company. He loves the qualities that Mr. Obama and his family bring to the White House. 鈥淚 feel like he is bringing family back to us.鈥�
Rajiv Tarigopula and Jacob Sloan left St. Louis at midnight Friday in a bus, with classmates from Parkway West High School, and drove 16 hours to D.C. They watched the first 鈥�Harry Potter鈥� movie three times en route and were on one of the first Metro cars heading into Washington on the Red Line.
鈥淲e signed up [to come] before we knew who would be president. I thought that no matter what happened it would be an extremely historic event, because we were going to move in a new direction,鈥� said Jacob.
Obama鈥檚 inauguration 鈥渋s showing that America has moved in a new direction, and anything is possible, almost, now, and hopefully some day everything will be possible for everyone, no matter what minority you may be,鈥� he added.
鈥淏arack Obama has really inspired a lot of people. He鈥檚 given the hope and dream that they themselves can aspire to the highest level of success,鈥� said Rajiv.
The view from VIP-land
The stars were out in force in Sections 1 and 2 鈥� the inaugural viewing areas closest to the podium 鈥� giving the crowd something to watch, preceremony. Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs, 叠别测辞苍肠茅, and Jay-Z stood in the aisle and greeted fans, though human gridlock prevented most in the area from getting close. Somehow, Maria Menounos of 鈥�Access Hollywood鈥� got in there with her cameraman and microphone. And cellphones and cameras pointed at them from all directions.
鈥湹鸩獯遣猿γ� looks so pretty 鈥� her hair is down!鈥� one inauguration-goer gushed into her cellphone.
Also sighted in and around Section 1: Dustin Hoffman, Smokey Robinson, Tyne Daly, Denzel Washington, and Don King.
For some, getting to be there meant more than just witnessing history. Pauletta Washington, wife of Denzel, felt a personal connection. Her grandparents had worked in the White House kitchen, then for Secretary of State Dean Acheson.
鈥淎nd now I鈥檓 here, front-row center, to see a president that looks like me take the oath of office,鈥� said Ms. Washington, looking toasty in her fur coat.
鈥淭he color of his skin is very important, but it鈥檚 really about his heart and his spirit.... I feel it so much, his hope, his encouragement, his inspiration, and I believe he will listen and hear, and I believe that he will act on what he hears. It鈥檚 not empty promises.鈥�
Don King, the flamboyant boxing promoter, sporting a rhinestone-encrusted jacket decorated with patriotic themes, held court in Section 1.
鈥淒id I think [Obama] was going to be elected this quick? No!鈥� he said, posing for pictures with fellow inauguration-goers. 鈥淎nybody telling you otherwise, it鈥檚 a lie. I was hoping, praying it would happen, not for Barack but for the American people.鈥�
鈥淚t ain鈥檛 about Barack,鈥� King continued. 鈥淏arack is just gonna be that symbol at the top.... It鈥檚 the American people and the change in heart and mind, that鈥檚 what counts.鈥�
But wasn鈥檛 King a supporter of George W. Bush, the just-departed Republican president? In fact, he was, and he鈥檚 proud of it. 鈥淚鈥檓 a Republicrat,鈥� King asserted. 鈥淎 Republicrat supports America and who鈥檚 best for America, whoever that may be. George W. Bush, irregardless and irrespective to all the problems he may be beleaguered with, he included us.鈥�
Former President Bush 鈥減repared the path鈥� that would enable the likes of Obama to reach the top, by putting prominent African-Americans 鈥� Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell 鈥� in key administration jobs, King said.
More touching, though, than all the attention-grabbing celebrities were the elderly black men, many in wheelchairs, seated off to the side. They were members of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black fighter squadron that served in World War II at a time when the military was segregated.
Lorenzo Holloway, a 91-year-old Tuskegee airman from Detroit, said he would have been happy to stay home and watch the inauguration on TV, but his son wouldn鈥檛 allow it. When the invitation came for Obama鈥檚 inauguration, he planned his trip to Washington.
How did it feel to be here? 鈥淐old!鈥� he joked. Then he added: 鈥淎s many times as I鈥檝e been to Washington, I鈥檝e never been to anything like this, and it鈥檚 really something.鈥�
The 鈥榬ace talk,鈥� right on the Mall
The long hours in waiting seemed to spark a conversation about race, opportunity, and the future, right in the middle of it all on the Mall 鈥� the closest thing the US capital has to sacred, civic space.
Obama鈥檚 inauguration changes 鈥渆verything,鈥� said Sarah Donaldson, a reading teacher from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., who traveled with family members to New York and then drove to D.C. to witness the piece of history that Obama鈥檚 inauguration represented to her.
It gives her students 鈥渉ope,鈥� she said, adding that she鈥檚 also pragmatic.
Obama may lift everyone up, but he can鈥檛 erase history and the differences between races. 鈥淩acism is something that will never go away,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ever ever.鈥�
Moses Johnson and his wife, Rita, a biracial couple from Philadelphia, were more hopeful. They met in Washington 43 years ago at the Hot Shoppe on 16th Street. As a college student in Kittrell, N.C., Mr. Johnson joined sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, where, he recalled, he got 鈥渂eat up a few times and slapped by a policeman.鈥�
鈥淚 was there when the crosses were burning and the baseball bats were flying,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to be able to stand here in my lifetime and realize there has been progress.鈥�
鈥淪ometimes it seems like things took a long time, and in other ways it seems like it went very fast 鈥� the way things have evolved. But this is special,鈥� said Mrs. Johnson. 鈥淚 came today because I feel I owe this to the next generation to try to begin to have some change and hope in this country, and because I鈥檝e never forgiven myself for missing the March on Washington in 1963. And I would never forgive myself for missing another significant event.鈥�
As the Mall filled up, people gathered around more than 20 JumboTron screens set up around the Mall, cheering as they got a glimpse of Obama or his family for the first time as the inauguration got under way.
People stood on dumpsters and sign trucks or climbed up trees to get a better view.
鈥淭he world is changing, and it鈥檚 about time,鈥� said a black woman in a bright red coat. 鈥淲oooo hooo!鈥�
The African-American community has in many ways lost its way, and Obama鈥檚 inauguration as president holds promise to turn it all around, said Doreen Bryant, standing on a sign truck at 14th and Constitution to watch a JumboTron screen across the street as Obama took the oath.
鈥淲e鈥檝e lost sight of mentoring. We鈥檝e lost sight of community,鈥� said Ms. Bryant, an office manager at the Department of Energy.
As Obama talked about personal responsibility, she noted that it鈥檚 as much up to the African-American community to lift itself up as it is to government to provide more resources.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be work, and it鈥檚 not going to happen in the next five to 10 years,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檒l take a lifetime.鈥�
Clifton Beckley, in from Irvington, N.J., overheard the conversation, and joined in. Yes, African-Americans must stand up on their own, he said. But when you consider the all-black schools his children attend near Newark, he wondered if Obama couldn鈥檛 do something to provide more resources for his kids鈥� school. It鈥檚 not all African-Americans鈥� fault. They need help, he said.
鈥淲hat I would like to see is someone who actually understands the dynamics of the inner city. Maybe this brother might understand what鈥檚 going on in that neighborhood,鈥� he said.
But for all the hoopla over Obama, one thing is clear: He can鈥檛 change everything.
鈥淲e have a black president,鈥� Mr. Beckley said, 鈥渂ut I still have to go to work tomorrow.鈥�
