Twice the Cause for Celebration

Our president will be sworn in as this country's 45th on Monday, January 21st.  This is a historic moment for our nation.  I imagine it will be an amazing experience for the president to be sworn in on the holiday of another great man while facing the Lincoln Memorial.  Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the memorial 50 years ago.

King was a man who through nonviolent means, fought for black Americans to have the same rights as their white brothers and sisters.  President Obama worked with citizens as a community organizer to help neighborhood people bring about change in their community.  Both men were strongly influenced by people or experiences during college.

Born almost a decade after the assassination of Dr. King, my experience is a lot different than that of his contemporaries.  The holiday, for me, was a chance to get a new outfit and hang out at the parade on the south side of St. Petersburg.  And really, it wasn't until middle school that I began to study the life of this man and to grasp the significance of the sacrifices made by both him and his family.

And now on this holiday, that was so long coming, the president will be sworn in with the Bible that King used to carry; sworn in with the Bible of the first lady's paternal grandmother.  Incredible.