'From Slavery to History'

On the eve of Tuesday's historic inauguration, drummers drew a dancing crowd at the corner of U and 14th Streets -- the scene where police and protesters clashed following Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1968 assassination.
Poster of Pres. Obama on U Street. Photo by Kat Aaron
Now, 40 years later, people gathered there to celebrate the nation's first black president.

People heading towards the Mall filled the sidewalks of the historic U Street district on Tuesday. Outside Ben's Chili Bowl, a landmark black-owned restaurant, Linda Cormier said she brought both her daughter and her grandson to Washington for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

"This is a moment in history for me," said Cormier, of Lafayette, La. "I lived during the time of the Jim Crow laws, and I feel that now we are finally coming together as one."

Cormier's daughter, Rhonda Wilmer, said she was "overwhelmed."

"When they announced that he was the president-elect I just couldn't stop crying," she said. "As a matter of fact, it's bringing tears to my eyes now, just to think what my parents and grandparents, their struggles, what they had to go through."

Near the Washington Monument, more than a mile from the Capitol steps, people of all ages and races packed the Mall. Maryland resident Gregory Wolson said as someone active in the social movements of the 1960s, he needed to be a part of this day.

"To me, its something that we strived for a long time ago," he said. "To see it culminate at this point, it's great."

Wolson said while discrimination will likely still linger, the inauguration marks a critical turning point in the black community's struggles against racism in America.

"This is the beginning of the end, finally," he said. "Now, it's like everyone keeps saying, 'You can tell your kids, you can be anything you want to be.' "

Tracy Bogier, with pictures of her grandparents. Photo by Kat AaronTracy Bogier of Fort Belvoir, Va., was carrying framed photographs of her grandparents, who she said had passed away.

"I just wanted to bring their picture to say that we made it," Bogier said. "Even though they didn't make it to see it, we made it, and it's here."

If her grandfather were alive, Bogier said he "would be crying with many a tear right now."

"He would be overjoyed, because he fought for this," she said.

Nearby, Washington native Roderick Beechum held a red, green and black sign that read, "From Slavery to History: Obama Baby."

Roderick Beechum. Photo by Kat Aaron"You know they brought us here in chains, they separated our families, but through all of that, look where we've come," he said.

Beechum said the widespread support for Obama showed how much progress America has made.

"America spoke on Nov. 4," he said. "It just wasn't black people, it was white people, Latinos, gays, straights, everybody. We're Americans, man.

"And look," he said, gesturing at the diverse crowd streaming past. "This is America."

Listen to an audio version of this story, which aired on Free Speech Radio News.