Reflections of the Inauguration

In class the day after Obama's inauguration students were asked to respond to three questions:

1.) Where were you for President Obama's Inauguration?
2.) What are three adjectives you would use to describe Obama's inauguration? Explain each of the words you chose.
3.) What will you tell your grandchildren/family/friends about Obama's Inauguration 50 years from now?

Below are several responses:


Rachel said:
1) I was in my house during President Obama’s Inauguration.
2) Three words I would use are: a) historical because President Obama is the first African-American to become president; b) Memorable because of everything that happened that day; and c) Outrageous because of all the traffic and the streets closed down.
3) What I would tell my family about yesterday is that the first African-American to become president was in 2009. And that I was lucky to be around when this happened. And that it was very emotional for him to be the president.


Markell said:
1) I was at home watching the event on television.
2) Amazing, Fantastic, and Historical because it was a great event, and it was history in the making of Barack Obama becoming the first African-American president of the United States of America.
3) That I was happy to live and see the history of the first Black president, that any and everything is possible, and that all races should come together and form one union.


Liz said:
1) I was on the mall, watching him on the Jumbo Tron. I could only see the screen out of one eye, but it wasn’t about seeing him or watching the screen. It was about hearing his speech and feeling the emotions that were everywhere. The crowd was so happy and it was really nice! They let this old lady sit down in the middle of the crowd because otherwise she was going to go home. Everyone was united n their happiness!


Kelsea said:
1) I was at home sitting on my couch watching CNN’s coverage.
2) Historic because Barack Obama became the first African-American president of the United States; Inspiring because it supports the idea that anything is possible and you can accomplish something if you put tour mind to it; and fun because people’s spirit and cheering crowds.
3) This was a very important day for America and the world. Chief Justice Roberts messed up the oath, but Obama still became president at 12 on the dot. My family, friends and I were all excited along with the Obama family and the entire country.



Diamond said:
1) During the Inauguration, at first my uncle, my aunt, little cousin and I were there, but it got very cold so we left but my uncle stayed.
2) My way of explaining the Inauguration would be emotional because people were crying and filled with joy because they never thought this day would come; historical because this was the first African-American president in the United States; and Unexplainable because there was n way to explain people’s emotions and how Obama’s family felt.


Jereese said:
1. I was at the parade yesterday listening to president Obama speech.
2. Cold, Wonderful, and very empowering. It was cold also it was a very wonderful thing to be apart of and the powerful thing about the inauguration was to see how many people were out there.
3. That you should always take chances because you never know were it might get you.



Terrisha said:
1. I was at home with my family watching the Inauguration on Foxs news.
2. Powerful because the speech and the event were powerful. Inspiring because of the speech and the amount of people that were here. Amazing because of the celebrations of the Inauguration.
3. I was 13 years old when the U.S. elected Barack Obama our 44th president. During the Inauguration I was at my house watching it with my family. It was a very moving, inspirational, and powerful experience, and event in history.


Shalynn said:
1. I was down by the check point where you have to go to get in by the parade.
2. Cold because it was very cold outside (FREEZING)! Historical because it was an historical moment. Crowded because a lot 0f people were there.
3. I got to see our first black president.



DaJuan said:
1. I was at my church (United House of Prayer for all people) watching the Inauguration.
2. Historical because President Obama is the first African American president. Crowded because almost two million people were there to observe the history in the making. United because everyone (black and white) were happy and united as one to make this happen.
3. I will tell my children/grandchildren that Tuesday, January 20th 2009, president Obama inauguration was so historical and crowded. Millions of people, blacks and whites gathered to watch this historic day. Living in Washington D.C has many benefits and I can truly say that this has to be one. This wonderful event proved that anyone can become anything.


Raina said:
1. I was at 1XX Rhode Island Ave. N.W Washington D.C. (Michael's house).
2. Breathtaking because I never thought that I’d live to seethe day America elected an African- American as president. Jam- Packed because everybody was very close to each other for about 50 miles down. Historical because now, when/ if I have children, I can go back and tell them our African-American president elect was sworn in the day after my 14th birthday.
3. I would tell them that as a child (14 year old ) I made American history. Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, the day after my birthday.

Obama's Inauguration!

by Johvonna

I will be sharing my experience at the inaugural parade. A day before the parade I invited some friends over, their names are Jereese and Kashae. We all woke up around 5:30 in the morning to get the perfect seats at the parade. As my stepfather dropped me, my mother, and friends off we were a couple hours from history. Since my mother left her check point papers at home, we had to follow a group of people.

Two hours later we noticed that we were on our way to the National Mall, and that's not where we wanted to go. So we walked a couple of blocks and we made it to a check point to enter the parade. I thought it was the parade by the look of how many people there were, but it was another crowd of folks waiting to see our president Barack Obama. As we got closer and closer to enter the parade, my feet began to hurt, and get cold. When we traveled through the metal detectors, we found a place to rest our bags, and blankets. It was 10:30 a.m. around that time, and the parade didn't start until around 2:30.

Our feet began to hurt even more, so we made a huddle on these small steps. I layed on Kashae, and Jereese layed on me. As people walked past they smiled, because they knew the pain were were going through. We were very lucky, and excited to find out there was a coffee shop, where you could warm up and eat. The coffee place was smaller than our classroom but we had to deal with it.

Around 2:30 we still had to wait for Barack because Senator Kennedy had a seizure during the luncheon. So in the next hour everyone was extremely cold, but more people seemed to show up. As the parade began, we finally saw Barack Obama, he got out of his car and began to walk with his wife Michelle Obama. Everyone was very excited to see him walk, but they just knew someone like him would do that anyway. I was very cold, but it was worth it. I will have this experience to tell my nephews and nieces when I grow up.

In search of Inauguration Tickets

From the Express paper the week of January 7, 2009:

"Inauguration officials say some DC middle and high school students could literally
write their own ticket to prime seating at President-elect Barak Obama's inaugural
parade.

"Officials are inviting DC public and private school students to write a 500-word
essay that answers the questions: 'How can I contribute to my neighborhood through
community service?'

"More than 100 students with the best essays will be chosen to sit in the stands in
front of the White House for the Jan. 20 parade.  Officials say the essays must be
submitted by a parent or legal guardian who lives in DC.  The Presidential Inaugural
Committee will select the winners.  Winning students will receive three tickets for
seating next to a viewing stand reserved for Obama and other
dignitaries.

"Essays should be submitted to pic2009.org/dcstudentessay by 11:59pm on Jan. 11."

Several SHMS students did write for tickets. Johvonna shared hers below and said it could be
posted to our blog.

Our fingers are crossed for all participants! Great job writing!



by Johvonna

I, Johvonna, can give back to my neighborhood through
community service by getting kids to be preoccupied during their
free time. A problem around my neighborhood is that some kids
drive stolen cars, speeding around and crashing into the
neighbor's cars. This has happened to my step father several
times, and I can help by reporting suspicious cars to the police.
Another problem around my neighborhood is that kids throw rocks
at peoples windows. New condos and houses are being built in ward
seven, around my neighborhood, and people who just moved in to
the community does not want to move to move into a place where
kids are being badly behaved. They do not want to pay for a new
window when they just bought a house.

What I am planning to do is to give back to my community by
going to my recreation center introducing new games, and having a
room where I can sit down, and talk to the kids. My recreation
center is called Benning Park Center. A lot of kids go there for
numerous activities like boxing, cheer leading, swimming,
football, and basketball in the summer. However some kids stay
outside being a nascence, just to follow others. I plan to go up
to the recreation center, and start a fun raiser, so the kids can
get a Wii with new games. I can also build a horse shoe game,
where kids can throw a horse shoe instead of rocks.

I think games would impress the kids because they might not have
them at home. If they come into the new Wii room, I would have a
short discussion with them about what to do and what not to do in
our neighborhood. That is how I can give back to my community
through community service.