The University of Toledo

This past Tuesday at noon, my world stood still. Barack Obama was moments away from being sworn in as our nation’s 44th president. As I was standing with my dad amongst millions of other Americans, I thought back to one of my favorite biblical quotes. Psalm 30:5 tells us that “Weeping has endured for nights but now joy cometh in the morning.” That’s the feeling I had as I watched this symbolic transfer of power. America had wept for eight years under George Bush but at 12:04 p.m. on Jan. 20, joy came with Barack Hussein Obama.

While in D.C. for the inauguration, Mark Carter met Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

I took special pride in this intelligent and charismatic black man taking that sacred constitutional oath. From the moment that he gave the keynote address at the Democratic Convention in Boston five years ago, he became one of my role models. I read both of Barack’s books, Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope. I was not only inspired by his story and rise to power as a political science major, or as an American, but as a black man in America. I was motivated by the fact that a boy who had a mother from Kansas and a father from Kenya was able to attend Columbia and Harvard universities. I was inspired that he took on the Chicago establishment and won the hearts and minds of everyday, working folks. I was inspired that he rose from being a state senator in Springfield, Ill., some four years ago to being president of the United States. Only in America can a dream like that be achieved.

My trip to D.C. was all made possible by Sen. Debbie Stabenow of my home state of Michigan. She was gracious enough to give my dad and me two tickets to the inauguration. I don’t usually use hyperbole, but the past four or five days have been some of the best of my life so far. When we arrived in D.C. on Saturday, the city was buzzing with anticipation of the coming days. Everyone was friendly and smiling, as if Washington, D.C., was heaven. I spent Sunday touring our nation’s capital. I watched the Lincoln Memorial concert from the magnificent Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. I stood next to President Bill Clinton’s very modern and interesting portrait at the National Portrait Gallery. Monday was also a day to remember. I got to personally thank Sen. Stabenow for our tickets at the Michigan Congressional Delegation luncheon. I shared punch with Sen. Carl Levin and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. I knew that other than meeting the president himself, no moment would top the events that would take place on Tuesday.

Mark Carter, left, posed for a photo with UT student Mark D'Apolito.

My parents were born in the year 1959. This was four years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and five years before the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A black man in 1959 could never be elected president of the United States, and in most Southern states couldn’t even vote in a presidential election. On Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama shattered the glass ceiling of the American presidency for minorities with the force of a nuclear bomb. Not only was this extraordinary man elected, he won states like Florida, Indiana, North Carolina and the capital of the Confederacy, the state of Virginia. So here we were this past Tuesday witnessing history. Millions of Americans packed into the Metro station to be a part of change. I will be forever grateful that I was a part of history and a part of change. At 12:04 p.m. this past Tuesday, Barack Obama put the hopes, dreams and burdens of an entire free world on his back. I thank God that I was there for the first moments of this potentially remarkable point in history.

Carter is a sophomore majoring in political science.

This entry was posted  on  Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at  5:40 am and is filed under  Op-Ed.
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