At midday on January 20, 2009, Barry Obama dropped the ‘elect’ and was inaugurated as president of the United States. Washington D.C. was the center of the sociopolitical universe for a day as people worldwide watched the Inauguration. What is usually a relatively mild ceremony marked by tradition and little publicity became a media spectacle as President Obama began his four year journey to bring Change.
Occurring on the day following the Martin Luther King holiday, the 44th Presidential Inauguration attracted a large number of spectators who crowded the nation’s capital in hopes of being counted in attendance for the historic occasion. Different media outlets told the story of the Obamas’ initiation in differing ways. While TV One provided commentary revolving around Obama’s spiritual countenance, ABC flashed slideshows, and FOX Network offered professorial criticism directly following Barack’s speech.
“I didn’t even watch it,” recalls Atlanta artist Thabiti Nosakhere. A former student at Morehouse College, Nosakhere appreciates Obama’s appeal as “an example, a symbol…to do better, be better.”
Outgoing executive George W. Bush received a torrent of applause as he relinquished his post in what may be the most unified show of approval to date for the former businessman. This Inauguration, not unlike this year’s campaigning and election process, has flirted with pop sensationalism. It appears that President Obama’s theme of Change is made manifest already. Much like John F. Kennedy, Obama has benefitted and suffered from the advent of media evolution.
President Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech overlooking the “mall of America” in downtown D.C. His cadence and imagery incited diverse reactions from the mixed crowd of judges, legislators, and celebrities behind him and American citizens before him. In the midst of performances by some of the West’s best musicians and performers, Obama’s soliloquy held its own.
Nosakhere noted that President Obama was the first ever to acknowledge “another religion – Islam.” However, like many members of the community, the local artist realizes that Obama is surrounded by politicians and appointees that may not share in Obama’s zeal for unified peace. “A lot of these people are not necessarily neutral.”
President Obama’s Inaugural Address, beginning with “my fellow citizens”, seemed to speak to different communities within the crowd. The use of “us” and “they” was prevalent, though at times it was unclear exactly who his intended audience was. “At these moments,” Obama explained, “America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears…” At many junctures during the procession, the facial expressions of onlookers provided an accurate depiction of the local environment in freezing-cold Washington.
“For us,” he continued, 
“they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans…for us, they toiled in sweatshops…endured the lash of the whip…fought and died in places like Concord and Gettysburg.” His words seemed to invite listeners from any and every conceivable American corner onto the platform with him. By associating traditional ideals of “hard work and honesty…loyalty and patriotism” with being “old” and “true”, the new president established a new basis for American pride – one to which the majority of citizens can attest and with which the majority of humanity can share.
The Reverend Joseph E. Lowery delivered the Inauguration benediction in the voice of an Alabama native tired from years of service but inspired by nostalgic memories of the 1960s. President Barack Obama led the masses who have traditionally been excluded from political culture in a march into Washington. As a Black American, he can successfully harness the potential of educational leadership while acting as a canvas for the entertainment of popular ideas.
By 1 P.M., stories of discord in Africa, connections between Russian and Europe, and peace in the Gaza strip were quietly stirring and have gone largely unnoticed by major broadcasters. With all eyes on the dance of the president and his family, the world continues to turn. The “far reaching network of violence and hatred” of which President Obama speaks is alive and well, and this was first day at work. However, whatever “storms may come,” “we” will always have a working model of worldwide unity to pass on safely to “future generations.”
