I can’t add much to what everyone else is saying. I’m elated, relieved, enthusiastic, and optimistic. I know it’ll be a tough road, but he’s the one for the job, and I’m ready to be a part of the new US.
The racial implications of this event are obviously huge, and two things keep coming to me in this regard.
One is that it’s impressive how diverse the crowd in DC is. I’ve wondered how many prior inaugurations would have to be put together before this number of African American participants accumulated. This is important if you consider that research consistently shows that African Americans identify more strongly with their race than their nation, whereas the opposite is true for White people. This will change the way that everyday Black people see their country and their role in it.
The other is the impact of Sasha and Malia growing up in the White House. Modeling is huge, and Black kids can hear every day that they have a chance to be president, and so on, but seeing these two girls actually living there and being a part of the events we’ll see on tv will have a monumental impact.
We can speak of breaking barriers, achieving the unimaginable, and so on, but to me, the real significance is in these two more mundane developments.
