Hope and anxiety compete as Obama takes oath

Photo by Steve Rhodes/Flickr

When Barack Obama takes the oath of office today around 10 a.m. local time, it will be a singular moment in American history.

With the simple act of placing his hand on the Bible, Obama, 47, will not only become the 44th president of the U.S. but also the first African American to occupy the nation’s top elected office, a giant stride for a country that has moved at times haltingly toward equality.

As if history itself is playing up the symbolism of the moment, Obama’s inauguration occurs just one day after the nation celebrated the holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights champion.

For many Americans, however, the election of Barack Obama is not just about an African American winning the presidency, but about something broader, something that is more poetry than prose, something that is about America living up to its ideals.

At the same time, today’s inauguration will mark the start of a presidential term fraught with challenges that many say bear striking similarities to those confronted by a former New York governor only a little older than Obama 76 years ago.

The last time a president confronted this many challenges, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was being inaugurated in 1933 at the age of 51.

Ultimately, Roosevelt led the country through the Great Depression as well as a world war against fascism and genocide. And out of that era came the New Deal–often described as a social compact with capitalism that provided the American public with a social safety net –plus the emergence of the U.S. as a global leader and the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As 2009 begins, the challenges are large indeed. The U.S. stands on the precipice of economic collapse. It is waging two wars in distant lands. And it is grappling with a diminution of global status.

Meanwhile, at home, its people are exhausted by the bitter politics that seemingly have divided neighbors by ideology while unemployment is inching toward a two-decade high.

Many can’t help but wonder: What does the election of Barack Obama really signify in terms of equality and justice? Will it propel our society toward the ideal summoned up in the Declaration of Independence but that so far has proven unreachable in the complexities of day-to-day life?

Perhaps of more immediate concern: Will Obama meet the economic and geopolitical challenges we face? Will the United States retain it’s status as a global leader?

Most Americans appear optimistic as the president-elect approaches his inauguration. But while Obama is the recipient of the highest level of optimism of any modern president, according to one poll, Americans also have very high expectations of him.

That same blend of hopefulness and a demand for action was evident among the New Mexicans the Independent spoke with on Monday–all of whom were optimistic about the country’s future despite the challenges that lay ahead.

Marsha K. Hardeman, Director of the Ralphe J. Bunche Academy and longtime community activist

Marsha K. Hardeman, like many in her generation, brings a keen awareness of the significance of Obama’s election. A self-described child of the 1950′s, Hardeman grew up in a segregated world and was profoundly impacted by the images of the civil rights era, from MLK’s March on Washington in ’63 to the brutality directed by police at protestors “who simply wanted to be treated as equals.”

“The images of the police turning dogs and water hoses on people is still very alive to me,” she said. “To go from that to witnessing our nation be so supportive today of this new African American president is just a miracle to me.”

Hardeman also is “very grateful” that her father–a professional man who “suffered humiliations and lack of respect due to his race”–and her children will have very different life experiences.

“My dad is 84 and my mother is 81. My dad told me on election night, when I asked him how he felt, that he never thought he’d live to see this day,” she explained. “A lot of people are saying that, but for his generation it’s so real. I’m grateful that he’s lived to see this day. And I’m also just very grateful that my two daughters and my grandson live in a world that knows very little about those kinds of indignations.”

As for Obama, Hardeman says he’s illustrated a “great capacity to show sincerity, honor, and integrity to the entire world in a single embrace.” But she sounds a cautionary note as well, saying that her hope for him is that he can maintain those qualities in the face of of the temptations of power.

Gene Grant, host of KNME’s public policy show New Mexico In Focus

Gene Grant can’t help but ponder the many individual moments of struggle that make up the African American story, and how they all have led to Obama’s election.

“We always talk in big strokes about African Americans as a group in the United States, but to be African American is about paying an individual price,” Grant said. “Not one of us escapes it on an individual level. So now, like many I’m sure, I can’t help but wonder—did my own individual struggles contribute to this moment?”

Grant also said Obama’s election isn’t particularly surprising, despite what many are heard saying, because Americans have been “getting right” with the idea for a long time.

“Sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit but in fact, Obama’s win is built on the foundation of a lot of people’s work,” Grant explained. “Especially in the South, we’ve seen communities picking African American leaders for a long time.”

If Obama’s win inspires people to work more for equality and justice, Grant thinks the election will be hugely significant beyond the symbolism of an African American president, but he fears that symbolism could obscure the “day-to-day work” that goes into achieving justice.

“I do fear that those non-African Americans who pulled the lever for Obama will think they’ve done their bit for equality. But it’s really just another step,” he said. “At the same time, all people have their own prejudices -including African Americans themselves—and the fight for equality and justice is tricky. It takes risk, can be painful in fact, and its often unrewarded. So if Obama inspires courage in people to make their own moves for equality, then I think it’s a huge victory.”

Joe Powdrell, a long-time community activist who was on the committee that started New Mexico’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commission

For Joe Powdrell, it’s all about going back to the beginning. This election is just one part of the long journey for African American equality.

“We ought to recognize this as an achievement of our particular ethnic group—we’ve maintained a continuity in our struggle that led to this moment,” Powdrell said.

You can go all the way back to 1872 when Victoria Woodhull ran for president and Frederick Douglass ran as her Vice President, he said. They ran on the Equal Rights Party ticket. Or consider Shirley Chisholm, an African American woman who ran for president in 1972. “These are just a couple of examples,” Powdrell said. “We’ve wanted to get to this point, and the people who’ve stayed the course should be acknowledged.”

Powdrell said the United States would be well served because, like Dr. King, Barack Obama is “service minded”–something that the country needs right now. That Obama was waiting in the wings indicates to Powdrell that there’s a higher power watching out for the United States.

“…I believe it was divinely orchestrated,” he said. “The Supreme Authority has a role for this country, and is concerned about the creation to the point that this day could be navigated.”

Dr. Harold Bailey, Executive Director of New Mexico’s Office of African American Affairs

Yes, Obama’s win is quite significant for the African American community, said Dr. Harold Bailey, who heads up the states’ Office of African American Affairs. But that shouldn’t overtake the central point that Obama is simply the best person for a job, Bailey adds.

Obama brings a unique ability to understand multiple histories and experiences, and inspire passion–which is what the country needs, Bailey said.

“I’m proud that he’s been elected as an African American—that’s very significant—but he’s also mixed, you know. He understands the history of the African American community but also understands the other parts of this country. He energized a lot of people of all kinds—they felt the passion for what he was expressing.”

“And we’re in good hands. He’s assembled a diverse group of very intelligent people who’ll help him make informed decisions. Really, he’s the total package—he’s brilliant.”

Albuquerque City Councilor Rey Garduño

Albuquerque City Councilor Rey Garduno realizes that as a person of color, with Obama’s win some of his dreams had come true. But the victory transcends ethnicity and race.

“We’ve chosen someone with mixed ancestry who represents many things, and brings many perspectives to the table,” Garduno said. “I feel that the election of Barack Obama highlights the promise of America. For all of our faults, when America is at its best, it does the right thing.”

Garduno knows the coming years will be tough–Obama has a big task on his hands–but he says he would offer his unwavering support and commitment to be involved in solving the country’s problems.

“The past eight years have left Obama with a big task. Expectations are great, and there will certainly be bumps along the road. Barack Obama has my unwavering support plus my commitment to work to help right this listing ship we have.”

Arturo Uribe, community organizer from Mesquite in Dona Ana County

Arturo Uribe, meanwhile, is feeling liberated. During the election, he headed up a non-partisan get-out-the-vote effort in Dona Ana County, and it was important that his work in 2008 be non-partisan, he said. To come out publicly in support of either side would have hurt his longterm community organizing efforts. But now that the election is over and President-elect Obama will become President Obama today, he feels he can say publicly what he feels. And that is this: Obama’s win will have a profoundly positive impact on his children’s generation.

“It’s very significant to be in a time where I can look at my four year old son and know he won’t ever know the racism in the way that I knew it as a young person,” Uribe said. “Electing a person of color gives hope to our country, and even to those outside our country, that maybe times are changing, that we don’t look at things like race, religion, or sexual orientation, for example, as preconditions for who is going to lead us.”

UNM political science professor Christine Sierra

As an academic, UNM professor Christine Sierra can’t imagine a better teachable moment for two of her political science classes this semester than Obama’s inauguration. It will act as a conversation-starter in both classes — one focuses on gender and race in American politics and the other on the politics of ethnic groups.

But this moment in American political history is more than something abstract to study. It is “both hopeful and tremendously significant. Those are the words I’d start out with,” Sierra said.

Obama’s inauguration is “beyond a black and white paradigm. It represents a breaking down of barriers”

To reinforce the point, Sierra, who is Hispanic, tells a story of watching television with her father in 1963. She recalls him weeping as he watched then-Gov. George Wallace make his now-infamous stand against integration at the University of Alabama.

“That made a big impression on me,” she said.

NMSU Professor of Political Scientist Jose Garcia

“This election of an African American to lead the most powerful country in the world sends a strong ray of hope to people of color and minority groups,” said NMSU Political Science Professor Jose Garcia, “not only in the United States where we’ve gradually seen progress over time, but worldwide as millions of people look to the US as an example of what can be done.”

Garcia also thinks the good will Obama’s election brings from the world community comes at a good time, because the U.S. “…has lost a lot of prestige in the past few years.”

At the same time, he thinks we need to be real about the incredible problems Obama will face and the challenges that will require a coming together of the nation to solve them.

“The economic crisis is daunting–unlike anything we’ve seen since Roosevelt took office in 1932–but there’s reason to believe a bi-partisan consensus will be formed to allow him to tackle the economic problem. Beyond that, two wars, global warming, and issues in the Middle East are severe challenges. We need to come together as a nation, put our bickering aside, and tackle them in a way that we can be proud of.”

State Rep. Janice Arnold Jones

Like many Americans, state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, a Republican from Albuquerque, is optimistic about today. Yes, her party’s presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., lost the presidency in November, but that doesn’t dampen her enthusiasm for the pomp and circumstance that accompanies a change in power that occurs every four or eight years in the nation’s capital.

“I don’t care who is getting inaugurated, it is pretty, cotton-picking exciting,” Arnold Jones said. “It is the official confirmation of hope.”

But Arnold Jones admits to feeling a great deal of optimism about the particular man who is about to make history when he becomes the nation’s 44th president.

“I have reason to place my hope in this man,” she said. “Barack Obama is a fan of the same reading as I am. I am a true fan of a team of rivals.”

Arnold Jones is referring to the approach Abraham Lincoln took after winning the 1860 presidential race and which historian Doris Kearns Goodwin documented in her 2005 best seller titled Team of Rivals.

Lincoln, a dark horse to win the presidential nomination of the newly formed Republican Party, beat out much better known candidates for the party’s nomination and then won the presidency. Rather than keep his rivals far from the seat of power, Lincoln picked them for his presidential cabinet.

Arnold Jones sees something similar in what Obama has done choosing former rivals like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, for his cabinet.

“It takes a very unique skill set to pull this off,” Arnold Jones said. Obama “has the backbone to make his own decisions. He is a seeker of as much information as possible to make these decisions. That makes me pretty happy.

“I will be dancing right along with them,” Arnold Jones said of those who are in Washington to take in the historic inauguration. “I wish I could be there.”

State Sen.-elect Eric Griego

Eric Griego, an incoming freshman to the State Senate, will be sworn in today, the same day as the new president, a fact that serves to amp up the excitement level for the Albuquerque resident.

Griego enters the Legislature at a time of enormous challenges for New Mexico, with budgetary problems threatening state services and public school dollars. But the momentousness of the challenges ahead for the nation, and Obama’s place in history, are not far from Griego’s mind.

“Not only are we making history for a pretty large stride in equality in our country that we have been working on for generations,” Griego said of Obama’s election as president. “That’s only part of the history. He’s also coming at a time when the country is at a pretty serious moment, an economic crisis.”

And that economic crisis carries echoes of an earlier era, Griego said. Washington has proposed a massive spending program to jumpstart the country’s moribund economy, and thereby create jobs.

For Griego, it harkens back to the time just after World War II when one of his uncles returned from the war to find the landscape changed by government spending. The Works Project Administration, also called the Works Progress Administration, created millions of jobs across the country by putting people to work on public projects of all types through the late 1930s and early 1940s.

“I have uncles who remember that era,” he said. “That’s how we put people to work. They built roads that connected these small communities in northern New Mexico. That is where we are now.”

Yes, there are challenges, Griego said. But “I see it as an opportunity to put some funding in some really important infrastructure.”