The day began at 7 o’clock in a friend’s apartment in Washington, DC. I awoke to subfreezing temperatures, but a sunny dawn. After bundling up, packing some food and locking the door behind us, my girlfriend Heather and I joined hands and began walking down Mt. Pleasant Street, working our way over to the Columbia Heights Metro.
The station was already abuzz with folks from all over the world, making their way to the National Mall. The Metro cars were packed tightly, but everyone was in good spirits. People were looking out for one another. The feeling of being a part of something bigger than anything I have ever experienced in my life was growing.
We arrived at L’Enfant Metro Station and made a slow progression out of the station.
We walked down Independence Avenue with hundreds of thousands of others towards the Mall.
Heather and I entered the Mall at 14th Street and worked our way through the crowd towards the Capitol, section by section.
We found a spot right in the middle of the Mall, directly across from the Carousel.
As we stood there for a few hours, waiting for the swearing in ceremony to begin, we made friends with others standing next to us. We talked about our families, commented on the arrival of celebrities and politicians gracing the JumboTrons and took in the estimated crowd of 1.8 million.
Before we knew it, the moment was upon us and the ceremony began.
My grandparents Curtis and Helen Morris passed away several years ago. They lived the majority of their lives in a very different America; an America with less opportunity and equality; an America that judged you not by the content of your character, but by the color of your skin. They didn’t let that stop them from seizing the day, seeing the world and leaving it a little bit better than when they entered it.
My grandfather was a civil service professional assigned to the US Army Ordnance Corps as one of the first munitions surveillance experts. He retired as one of the program's senior executives and a pioneer in his field only after making valuable contributions through WWII, Korea and Vietnam. His achievements didn't just ensure the safety of Americans--they blazed trails of equality as he was the first African-American to hold such a post.
My grandmother is a pillar of motivation and inspiration. Together with my grandfather, she raised three boys all the while moving over a dozen times (Yokohama, Japan included). All three of her sons attended college and obtained advanced degrees. Two became Colonels in the United States military. One became a stellar educator and author.
Of everyone I have known and love, no one shines brighter in my heart than my grandparents. I wanted to make sure that as they looked down from Heaven on such a historic moment, they knew I was thinking of them. For that reason, I brought a picture of them with me to the ceremony.
When President Obama finished the last words of the oath of office, the crowd erupted. I looked down at the photograph in my hand and said to it, “We’re here. We’ve made it.” My eyes welled up with tears of joy. I shook hands with others around me and I kissed my girlfriend. “This is AWESOME!” I said to her. She looked back at me with her beautiful, blue, tear filled eyes and nodded her head in agreement. Complete elation took over the sea of people.
"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
- President Barack Obama
