by Kate Deyst
Months ago, my friend Janine, a Washington, D.C., resident, and I decided to spend Martin Luther King Jr. weekend together. It was only after the election that I realized that the presidential inauguration would occur that same weekend. I was fortunately able to obtain tickets to the swearing-in ceremony and plane tickets that allowed me to arrive in D.C. on Friday and to stay through Tuesday evening. It was almost as cold in D.C. as it was in Harvard, but I was grateful for Tuesday’s sunshine. We huddled together and made joking inquiries about coffee and bathrooms, first in two-hour lines to the security gates and then, once past the gates, in the cold surrounded by the music, poetry, and speeches of the ceremony.
The best description of my feelings that weekend is a happy simmer with the occasional joyful bubbles. Those bubbles came in the form of an Obama campaign symbol haircut on the back of a woman’s head, the kindness and humor of fellow Metro riders despite massive crowding, and the courtesy and competence of young Marine ushers in their dress blue uniforms on the crowded Capitol grounds on Inauguration Day.
This event generated an unexpected feeling of common ground in my politically divided family. My uncle is a Washington lawyer and an ardent supporter of John McCain. He is also the adoptive father of five children, three of whom are of African-American descent. Here is an excerpt of what he wrote in response to Obama’s inauguration:
“Tomorrow is a big and a grand day for so many Americans. I have been thinking about this young man. I remember when we adopted Sarah, Mike, and Dan and received a lot of double-takes. No more double-takes now.
“I think of Helen Webb—the first black women to serve on petit and grand juries in the commonwealth of Virginia—without a hitch too. I was honored to be her guardian in her twilight days. She is smiling now.
“I rode the train to Washington today. It was filled with so many happy brothers and sisters. I watched the magnificent patriotic concert on the Mall yesterday. It was a great treat and inspiring. I pray we can become one again.”
Kate Deyst lives on Cameron Road.