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Obama Inc.
There seems like more ways to commemorate the inauguration of Barack Obama than I care to think about: plates, buttons, dolls, stand-ups, t-shirts, comic books, breath mints, gum, cookies, water, pens, pencils, pants, candy, hats, earrings, fake nails, sneakers, socks, mixtapes and the list goes on and on and on. At first, it seemed like…
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Inauguration Night: From Joy to Violence
I wish I could say yesterday, with all its disorganization and claustrophobia, was one of the most amazing days of my life. And it was, until the sun fell, and millions of people packed up their gear and headed home. I was one of those people. See, I wasn’t able to make it to any…
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Inauguration Day: Shout, Sing, Shop
During MSNBC’s live coverage, Keith Olbermann asked, “Is the White House ready?” Hard work begins in earnest Wednesday for President Barack Obama, but governance won’t be the first family’s only impact on American life—yesterday the Negro National Anthem made a joyous comeback while the Obama girls’ inaugural outfits crashed the J. Crew website. It was…
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The Big City That Wasn't Big Enough
They came in droves from all across the nation to get to inauguration, and when the big day arrived the expected happened — pandamonium. Wall Street Journal got wind of how public transit couldn’t accomodate all the people who headed to the National Mall before sunsrise. And CNBC has a view of the “sea of…
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Inauguration Madness – It's All Over
The long and frigid journey to witness President Barack Obama take the Oath and give his inauguration speech as this country’s 44th President was worth every chilling minute. Even if I did have to watch from a Jumbo-Tran on the Mall some million or more people away from him. Most of the official entrances to…
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President Obama's Inaugural Address
The new president has set forth to undo all of the messes Bush made over the past eight years, and “begin the remaking of America.” Read the full transcript of Barack Obama’s inaugural address.
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Mr. President
Barack Obama took the oath of office today as the 44th president of the United States and pledged to “begin again the work of remaking America.” Addressing a huge throng estimated at more than 2 million people on the capital’s Mall and millions of others watching on television, Obama recognized the multiple crises now afflicting…
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President Barack Obama: Hip-Hop's Second President
President Barack Obama will be America’s 44th, but hip-hop’s second president. Hip-hop’s first president was Ronald Reagan, whose war on the poor and significant cutbacks in public school art programs incubated the times that fed the narrative of the second generation of b-boys and b-girls. The change in subject matter and attitudes will almost certainly…
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A Family History of Civil Rights
Writes Haygood of the Caldwells of Washington D.C.: “One black American family: A mother and a father. Four daughters and a son. Forebears who reach back to slavery, and grandchildren who can now grow up with the knowledge that they could be president. At times, blood and fire marred their city. On other days, the…
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Black President, Y'all
It would have been too risky for the first black president to completely flip the script on inaugural protocol the first time out. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see Barack Obama stride to the podium in a stately East African tunic, complete with headgear and wooden staff? But my Zamunda-styled fantasy inauguration, complete with…