Americans say what inauguration means to them
Associated Press
The inauguration of Barack Obama as president had individual meaning for the many who crowded the nation's capital. Their voices:
———
As a real estate appraiser, Denise Grandberry of St. Louis has seen many forced out of their homes.
"I've seen the remnants of peoples' lives," Grandberry said. "I've seen the people who have left things behind. And we need a change. I have hope now, and I think the nation has hope."
———
Mikki Hill, 26, came from Winston-Salem, N.C., with his mother.
"It's not just about a black president," he said. "Everybody is behind him. Everybody's come from as far as the Earth is wide."
———
Cleveland Wesley watched the sun rise on the National Mall, thinking of the old days in Houston, where they live.
"Houston didn't desegregate until 1967. Our formative years were in segregation," said Wesley, 56, a retired electronics engineer. "This situation is so emotional, it's basically an unreal experience."
———
High school teacher Jackie Applewhite, 48, drove to Washington from Chicago's South Side.
"It's something I can share with my students," Applewhite said. "I can encourage my students to study and tell them that education is the key to success."
———
Tina Suggs, 40, brought her 8-month-old daughter Malia — named for Obama's older daughter — from New Orleans.
"For years and years and years, she'll hear she was a part of it," Suggs said.
———
Lyshundria Houston, 34, traveled from Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
"I've been real emotional all morning thinking about my grandmother and the heroes whose shoulders we stand on," Houston said. "They'd be so proud."
———
"President-elect Obama is just walking into a shipwreck," said Larry Stroschien, 69, a Democrat and cattle rancher from near Aberdeen, S.D. "I think this man has more challenges in front of him than any since FDR."
———
"I often thought this country might end up being a great country for my grandkids," said Sean Pittman, 40, a Tallahassee, Fla., lawyer and an African-American. "Now I believe it can be a great one for my kids."
