Yeah ... we gotta watch ‘that one’

On Tuesday, millions of school children around the country sat at their desks and watched via Internet as their president gave a speech welcoming them back to school and offering them advice on making the most of their education.

By all accounts, this should have been a non-event. Unfortunately, an alarming number of conservative individuals and those who are just distrusting of our government threw their hands up in dismay and rallied the political correctness troops to the front line.

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Go team, go! Next, please …

In last week’s column, I shared with you my observations on how the enthusiasm over the election of our 44th president had dimmed and how Obama-wear no longer seemed to be the fashion du jour.

I hadn’t realized it until a reader pointed it out, but part of my frustrations in seeing less people openly supporting our president is more about the people who seem to have crawled back into the comfortable holes they call lives, only to venture out again when enough other people are making noise.

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Am I the only one?

Tucked away in the corner of the trusty backpack I carry with me every day is my black wool ski cap, which has “OBAMA” spelled out on it in rhinestones. Since the weather can be unpredictable some evenings and I hate the cold — and the wind even more — I keep it on hand with a pair of gloves and a cotton scarf.

I bought my cap in Washington, D.C., when I attended my new president’s inauguration in January. I’ve worn it with pride often and used to love the attention I got when it sat upon my head.

But over the past month or so, when it has been chilly or windy enough to wear, I’ve noticed people hardly pay it any mind anymore. And now that I think about, I no longer see much Obama-wear out and about as it was proudly worn and displayed from last October through the end of February.

Am I the only one who still wants to shout to the world that Obama is our commander-in-chief? Am I the only one who is finally happy to have a commander-in-chief who is worth being proud of? Am I the only one who cares anymore?

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Black History Month: Is there still a need?

Sixty-three years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery, a young black scholar decided to create a week that celebrated the accomplishments of his people — despite the persecution and struggles this group continued to go through.

For some time there has been discussion as to whether or not Black History Month should slowly fade into the sunset. Why do we need a month — the shortest of the 12, no less — to honor a race when it really should be done all year long? With the election of President Barack Obama, the debate is growing a little louder.

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Chance of a lifetime

The time I woke up to find a spot in my ticketed area of the Inauguration: 4:30 a.m.

The distance I walked with thousands of others — like sheep — through a crazy maze that never seemed to end: Two miles to; five miles from.

The chance to stand alongside hundreds of thousands of Americans as we watched the first African American to be sworn in as president of the United States: Priceless.

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A dream come true

As I sat and watched the rebroadcast by CNN of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., 45 years ago, I realized the historic event took place only a few miles away from where I sit now.

I have seen excerpts of the speech and read parts of it since I was young, but it never touched me as much as it has now. Could be I’m getting older; might be that I didn’t get a lot of sleep the past few days. But I think it’s the fact that there is something in the air these days in the District and no matter who you are, where you are from, what your political views are … you can feel it.

We all seem to gravitate to King’s words, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” But on this day, it was something else he said that stood out for me.

“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”

In less than 24 hours, our nation will welcome in as President a man who already has opened that door. Children of all ages have run in knowing what is right when so many adults still don’t. And all around me I watch men, women, children; black, white, brown and more; gay, straight; and those who never thought they would, climb out of the quicksands onto the streets of Washington, D.C., to join with others near and far, after years of uncertainty in so many areas “to sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”

Read more of this post and Inaugural podcasts and updates at The Globe Newspapers.

In the heart of the District

It’s been a day of ups, downs, meeting new people, eating great food and breathing in the sights and sounds of all that is inaugural.

The temperature climbed up some — to a balmy 30 degrees — but is expected to drop back down when snow flurries move in tonight. Despite the weather, I braved my way on the Metro train, using my souvenir Obama smart card. The cards are sort of like the TransLink cards, but they actually work on more than one mode of transportation.

Read more of this post and Inaugural podcasts and updates at The Globe Newspapers.

Trip of a lifetime

It’s the perfect example of community coming together.

It was Nov. 4, 2008, that Mary Everett came up with a great idea: She thought it would be nice if her and her sisters traveled to Washington, D.C., to watch the inauguration in January … and invite some other Oaklanders who also may want to see history in the making.

Little did she know that two months, two weeks and two days later her dream will become a reality.

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Get there, if you can

In the good ole’ days, people who wanted to get across the country for an important event and were looking to save money jumped on a Greyhound to get where they needed to go.

In a little more than two weeks, the mother of all events, in recent history, will take place when former Illinois Senator Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Unfortunately, the airlines have the monopoly on traveling coast to coast, and if you’ve glanced at the airfares with the dream you may head to Washington, D.C., later this month, you woke up quickly with rates close to $1,000 the last time I checked.

But similar to Obama’s campaign, there is hope for those who still want to attend.

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