On January 21 and 22, President Barack Obama will be sworn in for his second term in the 57th Presidential Inauguration. But you don’t have to be there to get a front row seat to the making of history. NewsOne‘s Senior Editor, Abena Agyeman-Fisher, will act as your eyes and ears with a diary blog that will include photos, video, and unforgettable moments that put you in the center of history. Enjoy!
In 2009, the nation marveled at this country’s first African-American President, after a stunning win against then-Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
Now after an equally contentious and even more dramatic win against 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, President Obama was sworn in for the second time on the steps of Capitol Hill on Monday.
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At the President’s first inauguration, a reported record-breaking 1.8 million people attended the event. And while some predicted that this second inauguration wouldn’t be as robust as the first one, reports indicate that Monday’s inauguration still had nearly 1 million attendees.
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Standing shoulder to shoulder throughout the National Mall, inauguration participants were both jubilant and cheerful about witnessing President Obama in the White House for four more years.
And the Obama loyals were as diverse as those who officially took part in the Inaugural pomp and circumstance. Just as my daughter, Mirembe, and son, Nalima, craned their necks to get a glimpse of daughters Malia and Sasha in their royal blue and pink overcoats, so did other pint-sized Obama fans, who ranged in age and race from chubby-fingered, wide-eyed boys and girls to preteens and teens who donned chic Obama tees, beanies, and wrist bands like they were at their favorite artist’s concert.
Conversely, the elderly — some in wheelchairs, some with walkers, and others still decisively on foot — also represented for the twice-in-a-lifetime affair.
And of course the mall was filled with everyone in between. I spoke with men and women from Atlanta, California, and Michigan, and they all had one thing in common: they had come from both near and far to take part in Obama’s historic second swearing in.
With the Capitol steps in the near distance, the crowd cheered when political powerhouse and Vice President Joe Biden and his family were shown descending down the steps in to position.
Obvious crowd favorites, though, included First Lady Michelle Obama and the aforementioned First Daughters. Brief sightings of Jay-Z caused two onlookers to playfully argue:
“Why is Jay-Z here?”
“Do you know Beyonce?”
“Yeah…so?”
“Well, if you know Beyonce, then you should know why Jay-Z is here. He wouldn’t be
here otherwise.” [Laughter]
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