We mourn the passing of two Civil Rights icons, Dr. Dorothy I. Height and Rev., Dr. Benjamin Hooks. Their body of work was remarkable and speaks to the core of equality and freedom for people to pursue a full life.
Some wonder WHY???? but the core reason of the civil rights struggle is equal opportunity, so you are encouraged to read more about their lives and the role they played in attempting to help our nation deal with the lingering problem of racism. Although many dismiss this notion, you only have to read their stories to get a glimpse of why problems still exist TODAY. Look no further than the recent law passed by the Arizona legislature regarding so called illegal immigrants. Is this Apartheid 2010????
It’s bizarre and for whatever reason people feel compelled to thwart another person’s civil liberties, it’s the spirit of Dr. Height and Dr. Hooks that gives us hope that equity is a possibility.
Dr. Dorothy I. Height
March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010
Dr. Benjamin Hooks
January 31, 1925 – April 15, 2010
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President Obama’s Remarks at
Dorothy Height’s Funeral Service
Published: April 29, 2010
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Following is a transcript of President Obama’s remarks on Thursday at the funeral service for civil rights leader Dorothy Height, as released by the White House:
THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Let me begin by saying a word to Dr. Dorothy Height’s sister, Ms. Aldridge. To some, she was a mentor. To all, she was a friend. But to you, she was family, and my family offers yours our sympathy for your loss.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life, and mourn the passing, of Dr. Dorothy Height. It is fitting that we do so here, in our National Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Here, in a place of great honor. Here, in the House of God. Surrounded by the love of family and of friends. The love in this sanctuary is a testament to a life lived righteously; a life that lifted other lives; a life that changed this country for the better over the course of nearly one century here on Earth.
Michelle and I didn’t know Dr. Height as well, or as long, as many of you. We were reminded during a previous moment in the service, when you have a nephew who’s 88 — (laughter) — you’ve lived a full life. (Applause.)
But we did come to know her in the early days of my campaign. And we came to love her, as so many loved her. We came to love her stories. And we loved her smile. And we loved those hats — (laughter) — that she wore like a crown — regal. In the White House, she was a regular. She came by not once, not twice — 21 times she stopped by the White House. (Laughter and applause.) Took part in our discussions around health care reform in her final months.
Last February, I was scheduled to see her and other civil rights leaders to discuss the pressing problems of unemployment — Reverend Sharpton, Ben Jealous of the NAACP, Marc Morial of the National Urban League. Then we discovered that Washington was about to be blanketed by the worst blizzard in record — two feet of snow.
So I suggested to one of my aides, we should call Dr. Height and say we’re happy to reschedule the meeting. Certainly if the others come, she should not feel obliged. True to form, Dr. Height insisted on coming, despite the blizzard, never mind that she was in a wheelchair. She was not about to let just a bunch of men — (laughter) — in this meeting. (Applause.) It was only when the car literally could not get to her driveway that she reluctantly decided to stay home. But she still sent a message — (laughter) — about what needed to be done.
And I tell that story partly because it brings a smile to my face, but also because it captures the quiet, dogged, dignified persistence that all of us who loved Dr. Height came to know so well — an attribute that we understand she learned early on.
Born in the capital of the old Confederacy, brought north by her parents as part of that great migration, Dr. Height was raised in another age, in a different America, beyond the experience of many. It’s hard to imagine, I think, life in the first decades of that last century when the elderly woman that we knew was only a girl. Jim Crow ruled the South. The Klan was on the rise — a powerful political force. Lynching was all too often the penalty for the offense of black skin. Slaves had been freed within living memory, but too often, their children, their grandchildren remained captive, because they were denied justice and denied equality, denied opportunity, denied a chance to pursue their dreams.
The progress that followed — progress that so many of you helped to achieve, progress that ultimately made it possible for Michelle and me to be here as President and First Lady — that progress came slowly. (Applause.)
Progress came from the collective effort of multiple generations of Americans. From preachers and lawyers, and thinkers and doers, men and women like Dr. Height, who took it upon themselves — often at great risk — to change this country for the better. From men like W.E.B Du Bois and A. Philip Randolph; women like Mary McLeod Bethune and Betty Friedan — they’re Americans whose names we know. They are leaders whose legacies we teach. They are giants who fill our history books. Well, Dr. Dorothy Height deserves a place in this pantheon. She, too, deserves a place in our history books. (Applause.) She, too, deserves a place of honor in America’s memory.
Look at her body of work. Desegregating the YWCA. Laying the groundwork for integration on Wednesdays in Mississippi. Lending pigs to poor farmers as a sustainable source of income. Strategizing with civil rights leaders, holding her own, the only woman in the room, Queen Esther to this Moses Generation — even as she led the National Council of Negro Women with vision and energy — (applause) — with vision and energy, vision and class.
But we remember her not solely for all she did during the civil rights movement. We remember her for all she did over a lifetime, behind the scenes, to broaden the movement’s reach. To shine a light on stable families and tight-knit communities. To make us see the drive for civil rights and women’s rights not as a separate struggle, but as part of a larger movement to secure the rights of all humanity, regardless of gender, regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity.
It’s an unambiguous record of righteous work, worthy of remembrance, worthy of recognition. And yet, one of the ironies is, is that year after year, decade in, decade out, Dr. Height went about her work quietly, without fanfare, without self-promotion. She never cared about who got the credit. She didn’t need to see her picture in the papers. She understood that the movement gathered strength from the bottom up, those unheralded men and women who don’t always make it into the history books but who steadily insisted on their dignity, on their manhood and womanhood. (Applause.) She wasn’t interested in credit. What she cared about was the cause. The cause of justice. The cause of equality. The cause of opportunity. Freedom’s cause.
And that willingness to subsume herself, that humility and that grace, is why we honor Dr. Dorothy Height. As it is written in the Gospel of Matthew: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” I don’t think the author of the Gospel would mind me rephrasing: “whoever humbles herself will be exalted.” (Applause.)
One of my favorite moments with Dr. Height — this was just a few months ago — we had decided to put up the Emancipation Proclamation in the Oval Office, and we invited some elders to share reflections of the movement. And she came and it was a inter-generational event, so we had young children there, as well as elders, and the elders were asked to share stories. And she talked about attending a dinner in the 1940s at the home of Dr. Benjamin Mays, then president of Morehouse College. And seated at the table that evening was a 15-year-old student, “a gifted child,” as she described him, filled with a sense of purpose, who was trying to decide whether to enter medicine, or law, or the ministry.
And many years later, after that gifted child had become a gifted preacher — I’m sure he had been told to be on his best behavior — after he led a bus boycott in Montgomery, and inspired a nation with his dreams, he delivered a sermon on what he called “the drum major instinct” — a sermon that said we all have the desire to be first, we all want to be at the front of the line.
The great test of a life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, is to harness that instinct; to redirect it towards advancing the greater good; toward changing a community and a country for the better; toward doing the Lord’s work.
I sometimes think Dr. King must have had Dorothy Height in mind when he gave that speech. For Dorothy Height met the test. Dorothy Height embodied that instinct. Dorothy Height was a drum major for justice. A drum major for equality. A drum major for freedom. A drum major for service. And the lesson she would want us to leave with today — a lesson she lived out each and every day — is that we can all be first in service. We can all be drum majors for a righteous cause. So let us live out that lesson. Let us honor her life by changing this country for the better as long as we are blessed to live. May God bless Dr. Dorothy Height and the union that she made more perfect. (Applause.)
Spring is all about new beginnings and the start of baseball season!!!
Being Dodger fans we are blessed to always celebrate Jackie Robinson day at Dodger stadium on April 15th. Throughout the years this celebration has taken on new meaning and some teams have complained why Los Angeles always has this special date as a regularly scheduled HOME GAME. For that we’re glad to be Dodger fans because even though Jackie never played in Los Angeles or Chavez Ravine for that matter, his spirit is part of the Dodger culture.
This years game will be played against the Arizona D-Backs so in addition to being in the stadium, baseball lovers as well as people from around the globe will be celebrating Jackie Robinson Day. So all across major league baseball check out your team as I am sure some players, if not ALL will be donning #42 out of respect and honor of Jackie R. Robinson.
In the timezone of President Obama and the spirit his place in office represents, as well as the contradiction with those wishing to celebrate Confederate Month, you simply have to look at the facts of Jackie Robinson and the legacy he created to understand our nation and our world is a much better place when there is inclusion versus exclusion. For all the crap Jackie had to endure, like President Obama, many in the African-American tradition use Jackie’s illustration to communicate the courage and commitment to convey what it means “when you are the first.”
Jackie had to maintain great discipline while performing at an extraordinary level to break down the myths which in modern terms is laughable – simply integrating the game of baseball. Our world has changed and baseball has changed, so our encouragement is for you to review the history of Jackie R. Robinson, what he meant to his family, what he meant to baseball, what he meant to a progressing nation as well as what he meant to mankind.
In addition to the new exhibit at CITI park, the Jackie Robinson Rotunda (New York Mets home field), you are encouraged to check out the Jackie Robinson Museum which is part of the ball park in Daytona Beach, FL where in 1946 Jackie broke in with the Dodgers briefly playing for their minor league team.
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Branch Rickey gets credit for pulling the hat trick or doing what many owners simply could not fathom, especially in light of their product dying on the vine. He was a masterful businessman who understood the primary color of interest was green.
I could go on and on but I will spare you………Surely, today is Uncle Sam’s day (at least for those who haven’t filed your taxes or owe him something), but I would encourage you to check out your local team or read more on Jackie Robinson and how his presence allowed our society to become more tolerant with one another. As for us, God willing, we will be at Dodger Stadium as they always have a great pre-game presentation honoring his contribution to America’s pastime.
SPECIAL JACKIE ROBINSON CLIP BY NATALIE COLE
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Postscript
Well what would a Jackie Robinson celebration be if the Dodgers didn’t win???? At the stadium, what seemed like a sure loss, the Dodgers rallied with 2 in the 9th to tie it and WIN it in the 10th snipping the D’Backs 6-5.
The game was the game but the celebration was outstanding.
Newk was joined by the great Frank Robinsion, Dodger all star legends Tommy Davis and Lou Johnson, as well as Dodger great Tommy Lasorda, and of course super Dodger fan and basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabber
[Los Angeles, CA] On Ap ril 10, 2010 University of Redlands (U of R) once again participated in “A Day of Service.” Alumni from across the nation and beyond had many service oriented options to select. Being an alumni in the Los Angeles area, I selected to participate at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank (LARFB). Our group was well represented as approximately 25 Bulldog alumni and friends were part of the 1,000+ volunteer corps.
Our task was packaging food to be distributed to various people/groups who count on the LARFB for desparately needed food. We put in approximately 3 hours and of the 8 or so stations which made up our assembly line we were off to the races and put together about 1,200 complete packages. My specific line was at the start of the process as we had to put packaged cereal in clear bags and place in larger crates which made its way down the assembly line. Anyway, it was a great experience and I was very impressed at the number of young people who participated.
TODAY IS RESURRECTION DAY (Easter) 2010 AS CHRISTIANS AROUND THE WORLD CELEBRATE . ADDITIONALLY APRIL 4TH IS A SPECIAL DAY MARKED 42 YEARS AGO BY THE ASSASSINATION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
[April 4, 2010 - Los Angeles, CA] 42 years ago where were you? Rain had been in the air and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had given one of his most powerful speeches the night before, at Mason Temple. That day he was recovering from a cold and the entourage (some shown in the clip below) was planning to attend dinner at Rev. and Mrs. Billy Kyle’s residence.
They never made it as the rest is history. We take time today and beyond to celebrate and pay homage to the day Dr. King was assassinated. Even through the years this time is never easy, but we must pause and pay respect to Dr. King and his family allowing the living to reflect and imagine.
There are so many tidbits, as great a man as Dr. King has become in martyrdom, many, especially those living during that time forget that just one year earlier in 1967 when he rocked the establishment with his famous anti-Vietnam speech at The Riverside Church in New York, his popularity was at an all time low. Imagine during that period and leading up to his assassination approximately 75% of whites and 55% of blacks thought he was on the wrong path and didn’t approve of his work. Oh how quickly they forget. The key issue with the war and his stance was it was robbing desperately needed funds to fund the civil rights movement leaving it with lots of legislative ideals but no money to fund its implementation.
Fast forward to 2010, despite the paltry numbers of those approving of his work, now throughout the world people from all walks of life have come to recognize and appreciate Dr. King’s work. 42 years later………even in death The Dream Lives On.
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perhaps last shot showing Dr. King alive on the balcony
“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King at Mason Temple
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at Mason Temple, Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968.
“Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy in his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It’s always good to have your closest friend and associate say something good about you. And Ralph is the best friend that I have in the world.
I’m delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning. You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow. Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our world.
As you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, “Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?” — I would take my mental flight by Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn’t stop there. I would move on by Greece, and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality.
But I wouldn’t stop there. I would go on, even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire. And I would see developments around there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn’t stop there. I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance, and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and esthetic life of man. But I wouldn’t stop there. I would even go by the way that the man for whom I’m named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his ninety-five theses on the door at the church in Wittenberg.
But I wouldn’t stop there. I would come on up even to 1863, and watch a vacillating president by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn’t stop there. I would even come up to the early thirties, and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his nation. And come with an eloquent cry that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
But I wouldn’t stop there. Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, “If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy.” Now that’s a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That’s a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a away that men, in some strange way, are responding — something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same — “We want to be free.”
And another reason that I’m happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we’re going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demand didn’t force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence.
That is where we are today. And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn’t done, and in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I’m just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding. And I’m happy that He’s allowed me to be in Memphis.
I can remember, I can remember when Negroes were just going around as Ralph has said, so often, scratching where they didn’t itch, and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is all over. We mean business now, and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God’s world.
And that’s all this whole thing is about. We aren’t engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God’s children. And that we don’t have to live like we are forced to live.
Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we’ve got to stay together. We’ve got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the salves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh’s court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that’s the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity.
Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we’ve got to keep attention on that. That’s always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers were on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn’t get around to that.
Now we’re going to march again, and we’ve got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be. And force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God’s children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That’s the issue. And we’ve got to say to the nation: we know it’s coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
We aren’t going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don’t know what to do, I’ve seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there we would move out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing, “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me round.” Bull Connor next would say, “Turn the fire hoses on.” And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn’t know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn’t relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water.
That couldn’t stop us. And we just went on before the dogs and we would look at them; and we’d go on before the water hoses and we would look at it, and we’d just go on singing “Over my head I see freedom in the air.” And then we would be thrown in the paddy wagons, and sometimes we were stacked in there like sardines in a can. And they would throw us in, and old Bull would say, “Take them off,” and they did; and we would just go in the paddy wagon singing, “We Shall Overcome.” And every now and then we’d get in the jail, and we’d see the jailers looking through the windows being moved by our prayers, and being moved by our words and our songs. And there was a power there which Bull Connor couldn’t adjust to; and so we ended up transforming Bull into a steer, and we won our struggle in Birmingham.
Now we’ve got to go on to Memphis just like that. I call upon you to be with us Monday. Now about injunctions: We have an injunction and we’re going into court tomorrow morning to fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is, “Be true to what you said on paper.” If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn’t committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren’t going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.
We need all of you. And you know what’s beautiful tome, is to see all of these ministers of the Gospel. It’s a marvelous picture. Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and say, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Somehow, the preacher must say with Jesus, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor.”
And I want to commend the preachers, under the leadership of these noble men: James Lawson, one who has been in this struggle for many years; he’s been to jail for struggling; but he’s still going on, fighting for the rights of his people. Rev. Ralph Jackson, Billy Kiles; I could just go right on down the list, but time will not permit. But I want to thank them all. And I want you to thank them, because so often, preachers aren’t concerned about anything but themselves. And I’m always happy to see a relevant ministry.
It’s all right to talk about “long white robes over yonder,” in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It’s all right to talk about “streets flowing with milk and honey,” but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can’t eat three square meals a day. It’s all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God’s preachers must talk about the New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do.
Now the other thing we’ll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal. Now, we are poor people, individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively, that means all of us together, collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. Did you ever think about that? After you leave the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West Germany, France, and I could name the others, the Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States, and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That’s power right there, if we know how to pool it.
We don’t have to argue with anybody. We don’t have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don’t need any bricks and bottles, we don’t need any Molotov cocktails, we just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, “God sent us by here, to say to you that you’re not treating his children right. And we’ve come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God’s children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you.”
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy—what is the other bread?—Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart’s bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven’t been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying, they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right.
But not only that, we’ve got to strengthen black institutions. I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank—we want a “bank-in” movement in Memphis. So go by the savings and loan association. I’m not asking you something we don’t do ourselves at SCLC. Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we have an account here in the savings and loan association from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We’re just telling you to follow what we’re doing. Put your money there. You have six or seven black insurance companies in Memphis. Take out your insurance there. We want to have an “insurance-in.”
Now these are some practical things we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base. And at the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. I ask you to follow through here.
Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together.
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus; and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters in life. At points, he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew, and through this, throw him off base. Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn’t stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But with him, administering first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his brother. Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn’t stop. At times we say they were busy going to church meetings—an ecclesiastical gathering—and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn’t be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that “One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony.” And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem, or down to Jericho, rather to organize a “Jericho Road Improvement Association.” That’s a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effort.
But I’m going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It’s possible that these men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, “I can see why Jesus used this as a setting for his parable.” It’s a winding, meandering road. It’s really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles, or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you’re about 2200 feet below sea level. That’s a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the “Bloody Pass.” And you know, it’s possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it’s possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the Levite asked was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
That’s the question before you tonight. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?” The question is not, “If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?” “If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?” That’s the question.
Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you.
You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, “Are you Martin Luther King?”
And I was looking down writing, and I said yes. And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that’s punctured, you drown in your own blood—that’s the end of you.
It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states, and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. I’ve forgotten what those telegrams said. I’d received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but I’ve forgotten what the letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and I’ll never forget it. It said simply, “Dear Dr. King: I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School.” She said, “While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I am a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I’m simply writing you to say that I’m so happy that you didn’t sneeze.”
And I want to say tonight, I want to say that I am happy that I didn’t sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream. And taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been around in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can’t ride your back unless it is bent. If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldn’t have been down in Selma, Alabama, been in Memphis to see the community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. I’m so happy that I didn’t sneeze.
And they were telling me, now it doesn’t matter now. It really doesn’t matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us, the pilot said over the public address system, “We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we’ve had the plane protected and guarded all night.”
And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?
Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”.
permission to be shared granted courtesy of AFSCME
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Even though the Inauguration is history and an experience we will cherish, some of recommended we continue the forum to provide topical information. To that end, we will be updating the Blog.
Specifically, the phenomenon of President Barack Obama’s rise will forever be etched in the history books. We must admit like most of you prior to 2007 we were not aware of then Senator Barack Obama, even though Judith’s swears she remembers him from the 2004 Democratic Convention. Anyway, we attend First A.M.E. Church which is known for its social ministry. Celebrating the 15th year of the Los Angeles Civil Unrest (we call it a Riot) and with various ceremonies taking place in April 2007, then Senator Barack Obama was the featured speaker at a special service our church was sponsoring. While there was tremendous excitement in the air (we normally attend 8:00am), and most political leaders were going to be in attendance at the 10:00 am service, Judith decided to stick around to assist Supervisor Burke who was invited to attend. It was during that service and part of Sen. Obama’s message that he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. From what I understand, the crowd went wild!!!!!!!! but as months passed most folk got back into their routine and were gearing up to support Senator Hillary Clinton.
Fast forward………California’s primary was held on Tuesday Feb. 4, 2008 and that was supposed to be the day Clinton declared her nod for the Democratic nomination. Locally, as the excitement was brewing and Obamamania was being defined, so could feel something in the air leading up to Tuesday’s election. I decided to attend a rally sponsored by the Los Angeles Sentinel in support of Senator Barack Obama. He was not in attendance but after seeing the enthusiasm – we knew then something historic was about to happen.
As we update our Blog – here are several video clips taken from the Los Angeles Rally and my subsequent interview with Eddie Towles of Longview, Texas. The Texas experience is another blog but hopefully this gives you some type of update that history was made well before Jan. 20, 2009!!!!!
Some have asked……..so here it is!!! We have prepared this video of our journey. The video is about 55 minutes and depending on your player you should be able to speed up or only see what you desire. For those who wish we have a limited supply of DVD’s which are easier to view because it has chapters, etc. embedded into them. Enjoy!!
This 1 hour video summarizes our Journey to D.C. – Thanks for wa
This is an outrageous update, but factual according to the Washington Post. I still can’t comprehend how these people could be led down this path. If it were me………at 9:00am after hearing all of the bullshit, I would have got the hell OUTTA OF THE TUNNEL!!!!!!!! We did hear from various security type personnel so many misfacts, that we had to resort to common sense or as those of you who know us……hear all of the time, “Street Smarts.” We truly emphasize for those who were unable to maneuver around and for the biggest events (OK – one of the biggest) of their lifetime – they took the hat trick………and missed the swearing in!!!!!!
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Inaugural Missteps And Miscalculations
Authorities Rejected Offers of Aid, Allegedly, And Underestimated Ticket Holder Turnout
By Mary Beth Sheridan and Pamela Constable
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 25, 2009; C01
At 10 a.m. on Inauguration Day, Capitol Police Chief Phillip D. Morse gazed from his patrol car as it cruised past lines of shivering ticket holders along the southwestern end of the Capitol. “They’re flowing pretty good,” he said.
But in command centers around Washington, security officials were starting to get alarming e-mails and calls. A giant bottleneck of people had developed near a security checkpoint on the Capitol’s north side. Thousands more people were stuck in the Third Street tunnel, many of whom had been standing for hours with their tickets.
A combination of official miscalculations and inadequate response contributed to a breakdown in order at half a dozen ticket entrances and intersections around the Capitol before the swearing-in of President Obama. In meetings that carried into the weekend, congressional and security officials were grappling with public outrage and trying to figure out what went wrong.
This much is clear: The Capitol Police and other officials underestimated the turnout among ticket holders. They turned down advance offers of help from volunteers and the National Guard, officials say. And police failed to respond adequately when trouble arose.
As a result, thousands of people with precious tickets to the swearing-in didn’t get anywhere near it in time for the historic moment. Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance W. Gainer acknowledged yesterday that the number could be far higher than his early estimate of 4,000. Satellite photos show more than 10,000 people swarming outside each of three security gates shortly before the inaugural ceremony began at 11:30 a.m., or 34 minutes before Obama took the oath.
To be sure, more than 1 million people made it onto the Mall and Capitol grounds. But Congress members and attendees are livid about the breakdown in crowd management. Gainer said he has realized that the situation was more dangerous than it first appeared.
“We were fortunate that something worse didn’t happen, that there weren’t injuries,” he said after meeting with the creators of the Facebook site “Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom” — referring to the many holders of purple tickets for a designated viewing area who were stuck in the tunnel. The Facebook site has more than 5,000 members.
As was the case throughout the presidential campaign, supporters turned out early and in huge numbers to cheer Obama. Nikki Hudnall, 42, a nurse and campaign volunteer from Alexandria, arrived at the gate for purple ticket holders on First and Constitution Avenue NW about 6:30 a.m. with a friend from California.
The gates were not scheduled to open until 8 a.m. But a long line stretched down Constitution into the northbound lane of the Third Street tunnel. The women followed it.
“There was no direction, no security presence, no one giving any information,” Hudnall said.
Unbeknown to Hudnall, ticket holders were never supposed to enter that part of tunnel, which was reserved for emergency vehicles. Police officers continued to direct people there, however, according to witnesses. D.C. police working crowd control were focused on the southbound section of the tunnel, which was designated a pedestrian walkway under the Mall.
“I think the overall view is, nobody felt they were responsible for the northbound tunnel,” one D.C. police officer who was in the area said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.
At 8 a.m., police got word of trouble, a crowd storming a security gate at New Jersey Avenue and First Street NW. But a civil-disturbance unit quickly restored order, and many ticket holders remained in good spirits.
At the nearby gate for purple tickets, though, the line moved at a crawl.
“It’s my understanding there were 52,000 tickets for that area. The complaint I heard from people is they were going through a gate the size of your front door,” said D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier.
A Washington Post reporter saw two door-size openings at the entrance for purple ticket holders. Once through those entries, people were supposed to be routed through lanes where Secret Service or Transportation Security Administration agents ran magnetometers. About 10 a.m., though, TSA agents were standing idly because Capitol Police officers weren’t funneling crowds through the gate, according to the reporter.
The Secret Service said there were two dozen magnetometers at the checkpoint, each machine capable of screening about 400 people an hour. But some security officials say that wasn’t enough. “Do the math,” one local official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is involved in the investigation by law enforcement agencies and inaugural planners into what went wrong.
The purple gate wasn’t the only one developing problems. At the blue ticket entrance on the southwest side of the Capitol, which was supposed to process another 52,000 people, Obama supporters complained of slow-moving lines and conflicting information about where to file.
At the silver section, behind the Reflecting Pool, there was only one gate for 100,000 ticket holders — three fewer openings than in 2005 — because of security issues
Dozens of people who contacted The Post said they were appalled at the lack of police or other officials to provide information and maintain order on the serpentine lines.
“There was literally no one in charge,” said Sam Brannen, a District resident with a silver ticket who never reached the security gate.
“The largest concentration of police I saw were congregated in the tunnel between Judiciary Square and Federal Center S.W. They were sitting inside their vehicles, literally drinking coffee and eating doughnuts,” he said in an e-mail.
Some police officers said they tried to help the throngs but were overwhelmed.
“There was just a lot of confusion among the people working there, what information was correct, what was supposed to be happening,” said the officer who was in the area. “Because the radio was so crowded, it was impossible to get on there and ask questions.”
Lanier denied in an interview that the radio channels were too clogged to use. And she said she dispatched extra officers to chaotic areas. But sometimes it was too late. The northbound side of the Third Street tunnel was packed by the time reinforcements arrived, she said.
Making matters worse for those in the tunnel, ambulances and police vehicles kept driving through the crowd as parents tried to shield their children.
“We were all having to smash up against the side,” Hudnall said. “It was insane.”
In command posts around Washington, officials learned of the disintegrating scene with dismay. Secret Service agents and others had raised questions ahead of time about the plans for crowd flow around the Capitol, two officials said last week, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the investigation.
Early this month, the Capitol Police had turned down an offer for 100 National Guard reinforcements and additional volunteers, saying they weren’t needed, the officials said. The Capitol Police had deployed 1,666 of its own officers for the inauguration, 85 additional federal officers and 350 civilian “way-finders.”
Gainer, who is a member of the board that oversees the Capitol Police, said he had no information about that department declining National Guard assistance. Morse declined to comment.
Carole Florman, a spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, said all the law-enforcement agencies had signed off on the security plan before the inauguration. Similar plans had worked for several previous inaugurations, and the number of signs directing visitors was similar to what was used in the past, organizers said.
Congressional organizers assumed there would be a significant number of no-shows in the ticketed areas, as at previous inaugurations, Gainer said. “For this inauguration, everyone showed up,” he said.
In addition, Florman said, the situation was “impacted by the opening of the Mall” for public viewing of the swearing-in. A number of people turned away from filled-up areas on the Mall apparently wound up streaming toward the Capitol.
Florman acknowledged that the blue, silver and purple ticket areas never filled up, contrary to an earlier statement by Gainer.
By 10:30 a.m., people massed near those gates were beginning to panic, realizing they might not get into the ceremony. Near the silver gate, people began breaking down barriers.
Hudnall and her friend emerged from the tunnel at 10:30. “We walked right into a wall of people,” she said. An hour later, they arrived within 10 feet of the purple security gate.
“People were holding up their tickets. We were hopeful until the end. But all of a sudden they closed the gate,” she said. Someone in the crowd turned up a radio as the swearing-in began.
“We all listened and cried and hugged,” Hudnall said.
Staff writers Keith Alexander, Paul Duggan, Mary Hadar, Hamil R. Harris, David Nakamura and Clarence Williams; staff researcher Meg Smith; and http://washingtonpost.com video editor Anna Uhls contributed to this report.
It’s one thing to decide not to attend the inauguration but it’s another to decide to attend. In the back of your mind there are thoughts of something might go wrong where you may MISS THE EVENT!!!!! The story below is horrific as about 3,900 people had to deal with the reality of missing the swearing in – AND THEY HAD TICKETS!!!!!
We say this all the time, especially to our kids – “Stay alert and be Street Smart.” Some have no clue what that means but basically it means watch out for the pitfalls or other issues which stand in the way. While we suffered through some of what these people had to deal with, we went into “street mode” and wound up in our section. The bad thing about these people’s experience is they were in a tunnel, so had no clue what was going on above them. We can’t figure out why they arrived at 5am, 6am, 7am and after hearing repeated misinformation about when the gates would open simply didn’t get the hell out of the tunnel and if even having to walk 100 miles………get on open space and find your way to the mall, even if it meant forfeiting your standing section, at least they would have been able to witness history.
All we can think of is many were hung up on where their section was…….and PURPLE was near the front, but somehow they fell for the hustle and waited and waited and waited. We truly hope they are compensated with perhaps a private session with President Obama and other things which make up for the calamity. Can you imagine when they get home and someone ask…….”so how was it??????” and their reply is “oh we were blocked underground!!!!!!!!”
permission to be shared granted by the Los Angeles Times
Missed the swearing in
Approx. 4,000 Purple Ticket holders got stuck in the tunnel and missed the swearing in
They came for the inauguration but got stuck in a tunnel
Many holders of purple tickets spent hours in a tunnel under the National Mall instead of witnessing Obama’s swearing-in. Officials are investigating what went wrong.
By Robin Abcarian
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 23, 2009
Reporting from Washington — You wouldn’t think a presidential inauguration would require a survivors group. But shortly after thousands of ticket holders were trapped in an underground tunnel beneath the National Mall on Tuesday, a new Facebook group was born: Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom. Membership as of Thursday evening: 3,950.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), head of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which was responsible for the event, has apologized to the distressed visitors — whose color-coded tickets were purple — and called for an investigation by the law enforcement agencies that planned the event, which include the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Capitol Police.
“Sen. Feinstein was very displeased,” said committee spokeswoman Carole Florman. “Word has gone out to get some answers.”
Among the nearly 2 million people who streamed onto the National Mall on Tuesday were thousands of purple-ticket holders. Some were campaign volunteers, some were well-connected donors, others had simply requested tickets from elected officials.
Many arrived five or six hours before the noon swearing-in, and were told that gates would open at 8 a.m. They formed themselves into a line that stretched south, more than a mile by many accounts, into the city’s 3rd Street tunnel, which is part of Interstate 395 and runs under the mall.
Then they waited. And waited. Nine o’clock came and went. The line stayed put. Parents grew uncomfortable holding small children because strollers weren’t allowed on the mall. Men relieved themselves against the tunnel walls because there were no portable toilets. To the tune of “We Shall Overcome,” they sang “We shall get inside.”
Eventually it became clear that not only was the line not moving, but that they had no way to get to any part of the mall in time to take in the inaugural moment. Some later said that the entrance gate to the purple area was closed, seemingly abandoned by security personnel.
“There was no one to aid or guide us,” said Pat Silberfeld, a Democratic activist from Beverly Hills. “I guess security totally broke down.” Silberfeld, who did not arrive at the tunnel until about 8 a.m. because she was suffering from food poisoning, saw a man writing “Free the tunnel people” in the grime of the tunnel wall.
“I don’t believe anybody who was not there fully understands the real potential there was in the line at the purple gate and in the Purple Tunnel of Doom for disaster,” said Lulu Chiu, a 23-year-old federal government employee. “It was only through the grace and civility of the people who are only now speaking out about it after the fact that there was not a fatal stampede or disruptive mob. It was only because we were all just happy that Obama was going to be our president that kept our spirits up.”
Clare Fader, 34, who’d taken the train from Baltimore that morning at 3 a.m. with her husband and two teenage cousins, had scouted the area the day before to make sure she knew where to go.
“We were doing as we were told,” Fader said. “At first the police seemed like they had things organized; they checked our tickets and told us to go into the tunnel. We were there for four hours. And they were the only authorities we saw. The most incredible part is that it could have been so dangerous if people had not behaved so beautifully.”
When she and her family finally left in frustration, they passed a police station and joked that perhaps if they were arrested, they could watch the inauguration on TV inside. Eventually, they ended up with about 20 strangers crowding around a parked car whose driver had turned up his radio so people could hear.
Late Thursday, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terry Gainer, the Senate’s chief law enforcement officer, attended a meeting with the head of the Secret Service and the Capitol police. He also had spoken by phone with the District of Columbia’s police chief. They reviewed video of the purple gate taken by a fixed security camera as well as satellite and still photos, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He disputed much of what eyewitnesses described, but admitted the situation was “clumsy.”
Gainer said the purple gate opened at 7:33 a.m. and did not close until moments before noon, when the metal detectors had to be removed to accommodate exiting crowds. He also said that people may not have realized how many law enforcement officers were in the crowd because many were not in uniform.
It appears, he said, that the tunnel backup occurred because some people with silver-colored tickets were misdirected to the parade route and had to be redirected to the mall. Also, President Bush’s motorcade blocked movement for a time.
“It was painful to people who had a bad experience,” Gainer said. “But I think it went very well for about 240,000 people with tickets and about 1.7 million people on the mall. Obviously, it did not go well for between 1,000 and 4,000, and I feel bad about that, but on balance, one couldn’t conclude anything but that this was a pretty well-run operation. . . . We did a good job on about 98% of this.”
Elected officials who were responsible for disbursing tickets heard from unhappy constituents and began pressing for answers.
In a letter to Feinstein, Maryland Democrat Rep. Chris Van Hollen wrote that he was “baffled by the breakdown, on such a broad scale, of the processing of people who followed the rules and came only to see, hear and be part of this remarkable moment in our nation’s history.”
Florman, the inauguration committee spokeswoman, said attempts would be made to compensate people for the foul-up.
“This won’t make it up to people,” she said, “but we are working on a plan to provide people who had this terrible day some commemorative materials.”
She said that would probably include invitations, programs and a color photo of Obama taking the oath of office. How the committee expects people to prove they were shut out is unclear. “We have to come up with something that is workable,” Florman said, “but doesn’t allow just anybody to say, ‘Hey, I was one of them.’ “
Natalie Baack, 27, works for an entertainment market research company. The Palms resident was with a friend and her friend’s 60-year-old mother. When they finally made their way out of the tunnel, and even hopped a fence, they ended up in front of the Canadian Embassy. She was so distraught, she was weeping as she craned her neck to see a television at the embassy.
“I was just crying and crying at this point,” Baack said. “A woman took my picture, and I asked her to delete it. She said, ‘I want to capture the moment.’ Then I told her why I was crying and she felt awful.”
Some of you may have seen this as you receive the “Wave” or you saw the earlier post, so to respond to those who asked us to repost…………Leading up to the Inauguration the paper contacted people who were from the Los Angeles area and headed to the event. Here is the article.
A special thanks to Gary McCarthy for taking the pictures and of course to Leiloni De Gruy who wrote the article. Here is the link for the complete article
Like most people we are private but on certain things we do not mind sharing. Many people have asked how did you swing getting to the inauguration, did you get a bonus? did you get your bailout early?, etc.
Going to D.C. isn’t cheap although for the budget conscious you probably can get around. We had to map out a solid strategy, and it was while we were Aruba during our 2008 trip, when Hillary finally came to her senses and conceded we knew there was simply no way McCain could muster enough public support to win the Presidency (someone forgot to tell him – and although the media hyped millions that McCain was winning, if not too far behind, we knew that was BULL). Anyway, when August rolled around we started talking about taking the journey so the next level was HOW IN THE HECK ARE WE GOING TO GO TO D.C. WITH THE ECONOMY TANKING? We knew our 2 biggest expense items were housing and airfare – but as most of you know we normally spend late January, early February at our timeshare in Newport Coast (Newport Beach) and even though we had already made plans to occupy there for 2009, we made a few phone calls and realized we could switch – Ah – Ha!!!! – the biggest issue to this good news was D.C. is normally booked 24/7 regardless of the economy, but we were lucky to find a villa in Virginia (which is right across the bridge) – so presto our housing was nailed. Next was the transportation – we used points to go the Belize in 2008, so once again we realized we had enough points to get to D.C.!!!!!!! The trick about points is not to be stuck traveling 24 hours in what normally is a 5 hours trip. Presto, we used our Continental points who put us on Alaska airline with nonstop tickets. Of course we had to pay a surcharge of $10 per ticket so for $20 we pulled out our penny jar and now we were set. The only thing we were concerned about was what if Obama DID NOT WIN????? Being optimistic we verified, if McCain was indeed able to pull a hat trick – we could revert back to Newport Coast and of course we would use the airline points for Aruba 2009, so by mid August we pulled the trigger and quietly waited, and waited, and waited, then the Nation spoke and the rest is history, so in a nutshell we did have to spend $$$$$$$ but our biggest expense items were covered using points or other leverage items.
Now, regarding getting tickets to the Inauguration…………..we contacted every Congressperson and Senate we could think of – they were even asking us for tickets!!!!! Talking about never knowing where your blessing will come from……we knew that even if we could not be one of the 240,000 ticket holders, surely we could hustle a spot in the National Mall with the other 1 to 2 million.
Mrs. Vanessa Campbell from East Texas (Longview) generously arranged for us to use her tickets (she was a DNC delegate in September). She was able to secure tickets from her Congressman, Mr. Louis Gorhmert who is a Republican!!!!! He was very nice to us when we picked up our package, so the photo gallery provides you a glimpse of what the official tickets looked like, as well as the map, program and other info. Of the 240,000 who received tickets ONLY ELECTED OFFICIALS WERE ABLE TO OCCUPY THE SEATS – EVERYONE ELSE WAS STANDING ROOM ONLY BASED ON YOUR SECTION – WE WERE SILVER. On T.V. you saw millions of people waving flags??? We were in the section ahead of them towards the capital or you may have seen MSNBC’s booth, we were in the section ahead of them.
Hopefully this answers a couple of critical question we have been receiving………….How’d you arrange to get to D.C. and how did you get your tickets (it was assumed one of our local politicians came through but they had to pay back all the favors from the hustlers and we were not part of that crowd?……….so we are grateful of our friend – Vanessa Campbell for reaching out to us.
The excitement continues………today is another special day with much to see and do. We still can’t get over seeing President Obama’s motorcade whip past us last night.
In preparation for the Inauguration the Los Angeles Wave contacted Judith about doing a story on locals attending the celebration. Check out this link to access the paper which was distributed today and of course to their online audience.
The link opens up your Adobe Reader and if it does not open automatially contact us for instructions on how to download. SEE PAGE 8
Speaking of blessing, luck, FAITH or whatever you think but we were walking the National Mall and at about 9:30pm Wednesday, we heard some commotion and noise and presto around the corner coming past us was what we thought was simply a motorcycle race – but wait!!!!!! they were followed by police cars and lo and behold here comes the Black Suburbans and Barack stick his head out the window to wave – - Unbelievable but don’t take our word for it see the video for yourself. We were very grateful for the blessing.
Believe it or not but talking about luck or faith – Judith and I
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Well what can we say about the day after – it was truly a remarkable day. We had a huge “To Do” list and pretty much knocked off every priority we set. The video which is shown above was……I guess our reward.
Amazing the spirit is high in D.C. and around the beltway – it seems like everyone around the globe is full of emotion and wants it to last – well that can happen if everyone commits to simply being open and honest with each other. The President and First Lady bring such promise to everything we talk about – why we are here in America. The kids are just outstanding and Mrs. Robinson – man, just thinking about the possibilities and new images we will see chokes me up like I just say Chris Matthews do on his show. Anyway, tomorrow is another day but enjoy the Video and Photo Gallery. The one image we can’t get out of our mind is the millions or should we say Zillions who were waving the flags – hopefully you saw on your T.V. but they were in the next section behind us and it was an amazing site to see and feel the enthusiasm – I don’t know if they were excited about Obama taking over the reins or Bush being flown off to a deserted island called Smoke & Mirrors!!!!!!!
Miraculously we woke up!!! Anyway, today is Wednesday and we’ve got another action packed day as we head to D.C., swing by the shops by Howard, then swing to U Street – then to Frederick Douglass’ home and the building they have for Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune – THEN BACK TO THE CAPITOL. Seems like a lot but we plan on knocking it out. They key question or concern is can we as people keep this level of excitement and enthusiasm managed so we truly build a better America?????????
of work was remarkable and speaks to the core of equality and freedom for people to pursue a full life.
