The Inauguration!

I joined 1 - 2 million people in Washington DC January 19 - 21, braving the cold and the crowds to witness the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as our 44th president. It was an amazing experience.

This video chronicles my time in the city, from throwing shoes at a giant blow-up doll ex-President to joining the million + on the Mall to partying it up at an inaugural Ball.



There wasn't much of a question that I would attend the inauguration, and everything fell in place to make it happen, from cheap flights to free tickets provided by my Congresswoman, Lynn Woolsey (awesome!), to several housing options, and even 2 wool coats! It simply seemed the thing to do, destiny even.

I attended with my dear friend Maeanna, beautiful and passionate in every way, and met up with my old college friend Fouad. It was so sweet to rekindle our friendship.

I went for myself, and for my country, and I also carried the prayers and hopes of my friends and community, who all had the courage to believe and work for this in some way. I came for them too.

I felt joy in DC, and also some grief. But this was different than the jubilation and catharsis of election day.

Mainly, I believe that I, and many others who attended, came mainly to bear witness. To plant our feet on the cold earth and stand for hours, a peaceful, present, powerful army of 2 million people that could rest only after that oath was administered, that came to say, "We will watch to make sure this happens. And we will stand, forward-thinking, strong, connected to our country again, to honor our new President, to show him our support, and also to make sure he knows how seriously we take his promises. And to mark an ending, and a new beginning, and rebirth as a Republic once more. And to commit ourselves to the work ahead."

A few things stood out for me during my 3 days in Washington. The beauty of the city. The stark, bone chilling cold. The massive crowds. The sense of comraderie.

And race. The city seemed equally mixed between black and white. We stood together, in the cold, young and old, in a way that felt more united to me than ever. And of course, I couldn't help but feel such joy that the descendants of slaves could stand in a capital built by slaves and watch as an African-American man finally became president.

What a moment for our country. What a moment.

Love,
Roni

PS - There are some amazing pics here.

PPS - On his second day in office, President Obama came through with the first of many campaign promises, issuing an Executive Order to close Guantanamo and all 23 secret CIA prisons worldwide. Thank God. We are back to the rule of law, to a Republic, to some semblance of decency. Even if that were his only act - and he will do so much more - all our work would have been worth it.