Reflection

Inauguration Day

Austin thinks he can lift the mast! So Strong! #not

I loved this monument. This was the first time I had ever seen it.

Amongst the masses

He did a great impersonation..I can only assume!

We were so glad we weren't in the line for the House of Reps!

George Washington's Pew, Christs Church, PA

History!

 Reflection

November 3, 2016

What seems like eons ago I took a trip of a lifetime with my mother and two of my children to Washington D.C. to witness Barack Obama take the oath of President of the United States, and become the 44^th President. Nearly 8 years have passed since my mother and I took 2 of my children, Austin and Tanner to the Inauguration of Barack Obama, our nation’s 1^st black President.  Consequently, I have been reflecting back on that experience as we near the final days of a highly contentious and low brow election cycle. Although 8 years ago I was full of hope for our country, for my family, for the melding of races as Americans had the opportunity to embrace the true meaning of the words The United States, conversely, that is not how I feel today.

Celebrating holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and incorporating Black History Month activities has always provided opportunities to teach all of my children about the civil rights movement, how far our nation has come and how changes must continue to attain full equality. All in all, our nation has made progress towards positive race relations, but then wannabe thugs call my kids Niggers, and it is like taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Explaining to my children what Bloody Sunday was in preparation to view the movie, Selma, or trying to explain the murders of Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown are poignant examples of why race still matters. While I feel like I'm getting better at helping my kids to understand it, I still tear up as I look them in the eyes and try to explain racism, with all its horror and cruelty at an age appropriate level.

The Inauguration occurred over Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. While staying in D.C. for the Inauguration, I kept a journal of sorts, the following is a synopsis from an e-mail from myself to a friend who was living in Jerusalem at the time.

“Hi Susan,

This trip has been a whirlwind of experiences and emotions! Our first day we visited Philadelphia, after exploring the sights and food there, it was time for what became a horrific ride on the Chinese bus to travel to DC. The bus ride was a means to an end so endure, we did, so we could also enjoy the festivities surrounding the Inauguration in conjunction with the millions of others who also made similar treks across the country to celebrate this historic event together.

Thus far, we have toured the Holocaust, Natural History, American, African, Art and Space museums and have admired the National monuments from every viewpoint possible, including being inside the Washington monument. Taking part in Martin Luther King Jr. birthday memorials, and singing in one voice, We Shall Overcome, was one of the highlights so far, and our plans for tomorrow include visiting the Capitol, Library of Congress, and Arlington cemetery. To simply say we are basking in the symbolism and the conjunction of President Lincoln and Martin Luther King’s birthday's, is, to put it mildly. This is a spectacular time to be in Washington and having mastered the Metro, we are now zipping around town like mass transit professionals.

Finally, Inauguration day arrived and wasting no time, I woke everyone at 4 a.m., boarded the metro at 5 and eventually reached our destination without getting crushed at about 7. What could have been a disaster occurred when Austin vomited on someone’s coat upon arriving at our entrance station, instead it provided us a space that was not previously available. Eventually, the security checks were complete and all attendees moved as one mass group to our viewing area. Taking in all the sights, excitement and fervor of the crowd were every bit as enjoyable as seeing President Obama take the oath of office to be President of the United States.

History books will have this day written in them and it is a day I will never forget and hope my children won't either. To describe it as breathtaking just seems so ill-fitting of a description.

There is no other event in my life to equate it to, it is beyond astonishing to live in this country, where millions of people gathered and were witness to a peaceful transition of power without the fear of riots, military enforcement or tear gas.”
Alean

Eight years have quickly passed and the marvelous day that provided so much hope is now in the back of my memory, but it is not hope I have in my heart.  To learn that yet another historic, Black church has become the victim of a hateful, arsonist is a dismaying thought.  David Duke and the KKK have more presence now than they did 8 years ago, and have gone so far as to endorse the GOP candidate. The aftermath of the Trump Effect is clear when immigrant students hear their classmates threaten them with deportation from the United States. Walls and threats of nuclear ramifications are now mainstream words in everyday conversations. Not since the Cold War have I felt this level of uneasiness. Trepidation has replaced the hope in my heart, as I find myself waiting for the other shoe to drop whenever police kill another black man or woman. Timelines on social media are full of mannequins meant to represent President Obama and Hillary Clinton being lynched. 2016 has not felt like a culmination of 8 years of progress, racially or otherwise. Moreover, our country is a divided one, where child rape vs. email has dominated the conversation topics surrounding our upcoming Presidential election.

Attending the Inauguration broadened my perspective and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to witness firsthand everything that is right and pure with regards to politics. Before we left to return home, we bought T-shirts that read, "There is no Black America, there is no White America. There is only the United States of America." Let it be so.