Twice in A Lifetime: A Reflection on the 2013 Presidential Election

I remember watching his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in my high school Leadership class, and my teacher, insinuating that the then, Senator, was “going somewhere.” I remember meeting him at Congressman John Lewis' 65th birthday celebration (in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday), held at a Georgia hotel, as a high school junior.  I remember quoting him in the ultimate line of my high school commencement speech.  Lastly, I remember, as a college undergraduate, celebrating his election as the first African American President in US history, on U Street in Washington, DC.  Naturally, as I stood on the national mall this past Martin Luther King, Jr. day, awaiting the ceremony for President Barack H. Obama's second inauguration, this sequence of events, like waves returning to a faithful shore, ceased to dissipate in my mind.   

As the crowds increased, I sensed that the moment I was waiting for, the moment we were waiting for, was finally near.  To my front, the sun embraced the sherbet sky, just behind the capitol building.  To my left, college students sat on the ground playing a game of cards.  To my right, a pre-teen sipped hot chocolate while huddled next to his mother.  Behind me, the elders sat in foldout chairs, bundled under sleeping blankets.  We were all waiting.  It was indeed a sacred moment.  

          In fact, what was quite memorable was the prayer of Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams.  Her prayer brought me to tears.  It seemed to be deeply heartfelt—as if she encapsulated the very pulse of history, which resided 50 years before, in the heart of her husband, murdered civil rights activist, Medgar Evers.  I imagine that in stopping to honor God for such a moment in history, she was simultaneously honoring the life and legacy of her late husband who was killed because he was organizing, that blacks might have the right to vote.  This very occasion (the second inauguration of our first African-American president) was the summation of that right coming to fruition.

 I was further awestruck that President Obama pledged on the two Bibles: one of President Abraham Lincoln and that of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!  In that moment, I was reminded of the importance and power of prophetic leadership (I’ll have to expound upon this concept at another time).  I am truly grateful for what I witnessed on the National Mall, that day.  God only knows where I’m going from here.