Hope warmed crowds at Obama's historic inauguration

By Fredie Carmichae
CNHI News Service

January 21, 2009 11:12 am

— WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Barack Obama swore the presidential oath shortly after noon Tuesday, sunlight broke through stray clouds over the U.S. Capitol and shone directly on the nation’s 44th president and an estimated 2 million spectators determined to witness his historic ceremony.

The roar from a crowd that stretched as far as the Lincoln Memorial, nearly two miles away, echoed in waves to the steps of the Capitol each time Obama's image appeared on massive television screens set up along the National Mall. The muffled applause of millions of gloved hands punctuated his speech.

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," Obama said to the crowd, and the nation, moments after he took the oath.

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

For many, the promise of a redefined America provided the strength to brave temperatures in the teens. U.S. Park Police closed the Mall near 14th Street three hours before Obama was to take the oath and redirected still-descending spectators to the grounds of the Washington Monument, more than a mile from the Capitol.

They chanted, "O-BA-MA ... O-BA-MA" in the hours before the first musical note was struck to begin the ceremony.

People coming from all directions had packed the Metro, Washington’s subway system, in the wee hours of the morning and waited — with amazing calm — to see the festivities.

Vel Young, a Lauderdale County Court judge in Mississippi and daughter of state Rep. Charles Young, a former civil rights worker in Meridian, was among those who bundled up and headed out early. She grabbed a spot about 75 yards in front of the stage. It was worth the wait, she said.

"To look up and see him take the oath, then turn around and see the sea of people, like a rainbow from all walks off life — men, women, boys, girls, black, white, yellow, brown — and from all parts of the world," said Young, "it was unreal. It was amazing."

Young said she wished her father, a man who helped register black voters and spent countless hours working for civil rights in the 1960s, could have been with her and her brother, Charles Jr. He was unable to make the trip.

"I can't wait to tell him about it," she said.

"Today shows that all his and others' hard work paid off,” she said. “I watched an 85-year-old woman today near hypothermia get through it to watch the swearing-in. It shows how much that moment meant to people."

Long lines and bitter cold didn't end with the ceremonies on the front steps of the Capitol. Temperatures still hadn't broken 30 in the early afternoon, and the wind made it feel much colder.

The crowd was large enough to shut down many of the city's Metro stations.

Richard Kelly and his wife, Ceatrice, of Meridian, Miss., had to wait until 5 p.m. to catch a train out of the city; the couple was staying with relatives in Baltimore.

Richard Kelly said they browsed street vendor offerings near the Mall as they waited for the Metro to open. They purchased a few $5 Barack Obama calendars and a handful of 2 for $1 Obama postcards and pins.

"This was well worth the trip," Kelly said. "We wouldn't have missed it. We left at 5 a.m. this morning to get to the Mall. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. What a moment."

Emotion was spread through the crowd.

Teresa Edwards, 45, of Minneapolis, huddled on a street bench southeast of the Capitol, as thousands passed her. Her face was buried in fleece-covered hands until the wind blew a newspaper page to her feet. She reached to pick it up, exposing tears and swollen eyes.

"I'm just having a moment," she said. "This is such an inspiring time.

A few blocks up the street, Josh Boggan of Atlanta, and his family chanted, "O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA."

"This is a great time in our nation's history," he said. "It's a day I never dreamed I'd see."

Young, of Mississippi, said she will hold onto these memories for years, to motivate her and remind her how far the country has come. The work of her father, now a successful businessman and decorated lawmaker, helped pave the way for the country to elect its first black president, she said. The fight he and others waged was not in vain.

Obama’s gave tribute to their work Tuesday.

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given," he said. "It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted ...."

Young called it an uplifting speech.

"It was a speech of hope," she said. "It was so great to see all of these people come together for that moment. I could never experience that anywhere else and probably won't be able to ever again. But it gives me hope. The world is truly changing. It's heading in a positive direction. I'm so glad I was able to be a part of that today."

Fredie Carmichael, editor of The Meridian, Miss., Star., traveled to Washington, D.C., to cover Obama's inauguration for CNHI News Service. Contact him at editor@themeridianstar.com

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.