Obama's Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009
A day to remember as "We the People"
We’ve had many memorable news days lately, too many. But thinking back, I remember only a few that inspired seemingly effortless artwork. One of those events was President Obama’s Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009. Where were you that day?
The next day I got the newspapers so I’d have pictures of the crowd with flags who attended the new President’s swearing in. It was so exciting!
I made a booklet to go with the collage, to describe the day in detail.
The past Presidents who were there that cold day were Jimmy Carter, George Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
As I watched the proceedings on television I felt that all the other United States Presidents were there in spirit, to witness and to welcome. I put them in my picture, sitting in two decorated boxes.
Some citizens and leaders from our history watched from the sidelines.
At the end of the booklet I described how I felt that “We the People” of America had experienced a moment when something important was revealed, and we needed to remember it.
Even now I still feel the energy of that day in January, 2009, when we Americans honored our nation’s founding goal of equality for all, equality in our voting system and in the eye of the law.
And now in January 2022, it’s clear that our two-party system, that debates with respect and votes with honor in Congress, is the fabric that holds our democracy together. It’s like the bunting in “We the People” that decorates the stands where our history’s Presidents of both parties sit together, in celebration of our nation.
Thanks for this, Deda. Inspiring. May we renew this spirit for the future.
it was a special day indeed! I love how you had all of the former presidents in the boxes!