The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog » inauguration

The (Missed) Opportunity of a Lifetime

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:38:35 +0000

By Leslie Proll When President Obama took office last January, hopes were high that the right wing’s long stronghold on the federal courts had come to an end. LDF and other civil rights advocates were eager for a new day when fair and impartial judges would once again be nominated and confirmed in large numbers.

Obama at Year One

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:31:02 +0000

By John Payton
A year ago, we could barely contain our excitement as we contemplated a historic achievement. Barack Obama had won a decisive victory. There was widespread enthusiasm for his Presidency. Right after the election, Gallup reported that 68 percent of the public was proud that Obama was President. His choices of Senator Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, of Eric Holder to be Attorney General and of Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense were well received. His Inaugural speech was brilliant. We were looking forward to acknowledging and confronting fundamental problems that have plagued our society for decades.

What Would Martin Say?

The Editors — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:59:08 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
This is the week America celebrates in special fashion the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Joseph Lowery’s Inauguration Benediction

The Editors — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:29:22 +0000

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee...

The Many Ways of Being ‘There’

The Editors — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:44:50 +0000

By TaRessa Stovall
Like my colleagues Stacey Patton and Mel Gagarin, I had gone to Inauguration ’09 in Washington, DC fully planning to send a steady stream of live blog blippets to chronicle the experience as it unfolded.

A Warm Greeting and a Cold Farewell

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:00:59 +0000

By Stacey Patton
Amidst the outpouring of support and joy from the largest crowd ever to assemble for an inauguration, there was one striking moment of collective anger from the crowd. For those watching the ceremony on television or the Internet, that moment got drowned out by the playing of the brass band.

Poetry Of Change

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:36:10 +0000

Pearl Cleage, Haki R. Madhubuti and E. Ethelbert Miller offer words to celebrate the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama.

I-blog-uration Insights

The Editors — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:29:21 +0000

By TaRessa Stovall Sunday, Jan. 18 As comedian Jon Stewart observed, a black man is moving into the White House so Washington, DC declares a State of Emergency. The excitement, the tension, the sheer joy of the citizenry and the scowling, stressed-out demeanor of law enforcement and security personnel are all blended into that unique [...]

Inauguration Dispatches

The Editors — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:30:36 +0000

By Mel Gagarin
Normally my job is to collect and share the news of the day. Seldom do I have the opportunity to go watch the news be made. Over the next day and a half I'll be submitting my first hand accounts of my trip and impressions surrounding and including the inauguration the of the 44th President of the United States of America.

We The Little People

The Editors — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:19:19 +0000

By Stacey Patton Two days before President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing into office, nearly two thousand children and their family members flocked to the Historical Society of Washington to attend the first ever “Children’s Inaugural Ball” and to remind us all not to forget that they are an essential part of “we the people.”

Inauguration Diaries

The Editors — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:01:20 +0000

By Stacey Patton Today our nation’s capital was full of even more Obamamania as our first black president took the oath of office at the Capitol building. Yesterday’s New York Times description of the atmosphere here being a mix between Woodstock and the 1968 March on Washington was dead on.