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Part of This Moment
February 1st, 2009 | Charlie Gayle
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
Barack Obama's inauguration drew an estimated 1.8 million people to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. One of those people is our latest Featured Tripper, 35 year-old Charlie Gayle. He traveled from his home in Maryland to see Obama sworn-in as our 44th president.
Here's Charlie's journey to that historic inauguration:
I would count myself as an early fan of Barack Obama. The initial hook was the lyrical idealism of his speeches. He seemed willing, unlike any other candidate in my lifetime, to speak honestly about challenging established societal norms that needed to change: divisive partisan politics, racial dogma and disengagement between people and government. I was also impressed with his biography. As a fellow lawyer, I appreciated his ability to excel in law school and master his profession. So during the primaries, I was firmly in Obama’s camp, excited, inspired and hopeful, but in the back of my mind, knowing that Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee.
As the race went on, my support and belief became stronger. I started volunteering. I went to rallies. I stood in line for three hours in sub-freezing temperatures to see Obama speak. For the first time, I was truly engaged in the political process. It was a long journey, but all the hard work paid off, and Barack Obama not only defeated Hillary Clinton, he won the presidency.
Being from the Washington, D.C. area, I initially did not have plans to attend the Inauguration. I actually had a case scheduled for January 20th, and with attendance projections that got up to 5 million, I was firmly convinced that I was not venturing anywhere inside the Beltway.
But as the day approached, I started to reflect upon this journey that I felt I had taken with Obama. His victory symbolized a sea change in American politics, a re-energized electorate, a genuinely multi-racial and multi-class political coalition, a rejection of divisive politics. I began to feel that I needed to be a part of this moment, not only to witness the historical inauguration of the first African-American president, but to celebrate the birth of a new political energy, perhaps even, a new movement.
My case scheduled for January 20th became a plea. So, I was now free and chose to be a part of history. I convinced my girlfriend to take the day off as well, and we prepared to brave the crowds and the weather. We planned our strategy for getting out to the National Mall. Automobile access to downtown D.C. was out of the question. Metro [rail] stations were opening their parking lots at 3:30am, and the Mall was allowing public access at 4am, but only at specific checkpoints. We planned to get to the 7th Street and Independent Avenue checkpoint by 4am.
We finally hit the checkpoint around 4:30am, and were met with a huge, surging crowd. The checkpoint had not opened yet, but people were in pretty high spirits, considering that we were standing out in the cold, in the dark, and with no information. The crowd was made up of Americans of all stripes: old, young, multi-ethnic, immigrants holding the flags of their home countries. There were also plenty of folks sporting their Obama gear. The air was thick with excitement and anticipation.
Early on Inauguration morning.
Once the gates opened, it was a mad dash for the 4th Street barricade, which was the closest public access point to the Capitol. We found ourselves caught up in the rush. The crowd was so thick, that in the dark, it was difficult to see obstacles on the ground ahead of you. As we flowed along with the surging crowd, we counted the seconds until we hit the brick wall of humanity as it filled in behind the 4th Street barricade. We eventually hit the “wall” and felt the crush of bodies fill in behind us.
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Charlie Gayle | 1 Comment »
Part of This Moment
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
July 14th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
What an excellent piece–made me feel like I was there.
I am also proud to know the author, but I am in no way biased :)
My best to all of you at The Longest Trip. Keep up the good work!