Obama’s Inauguration - Prayers Answered and Dreams Fulfilled

By: Michael H. Cottman

For the black faithful from Los Angeles to New York and everywhere in between, years worth of prayers have been answered.

When Barack Obama places his hand on the 148-year-old Lincoln Bible and is sworn in as the nation’s 44th president Tuesday, he will also make history by becoming America’s first black president in a country that once sanctioned slavery and used African slaves to build the White House – the same marble-floored residence where Obama and his family will call home this week.
Tuesday’s ceremony on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. will symbolize, for black people, a long journey from slavery in America, to the civil rights movement, to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., arguably the most notable black leader in American history – perhaps until Tuesday.

“It’s a great day,” Rev. Al Sharpton said on CNN of Obama’s inauguration, “a momentous and historic occasion.”

Many African-American seniors say they never thought they’d see the day where a black man would be elected president, and young blacks insist that Obama’s presidency gives them hope for a better future.

Obama’s presidency, for many blacks, means more than simply a source of pride; it is also a day where many will experience a collective uplifting while others will shed tears of joy for a more harmonious tomorrow. And for those who have hope and faith, Obama’s inauguration may boil down to one crucial word: Employment.

And although Obama is of mixed heritage -- his mother was white and his father Kenyan – he embraces his African-American roots.

Obama’s Inauguration - Prayers Answered and Dreams Fulfilled....