On Monday, January 20, 2009 Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. His inauguration was significant for a number of reasons; first, he is the first African American to become president, second he took office in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and third contrary to prior inaugurations Obama did not give a feel good, upbeat speech. Instead, he let the country know that the reason the country is in so much turmoil is because of bad decision making and greed on part of the government and the citizens it represent. Obama closed his speech by giving the government and the people a charge to help foster a positive change by saying, “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” He told the nation that change would not be easy but it was necessary because we are indebted to the ones that have come before us and gave their lives in hopes of a better day. After hearing Obama speech it made me think of all the people that dedicated their lives to the struggle for change; and I feel like it is my obligation to contribute to the movement of change. As a McNair Scholar I feel like I am a direct beneficiary of the struggles and the dreams of the Civil Rights Movement and therefore I feel it is only right for me to be a part of the movement for change that is taking place now. I charge my fellow McNair Scholars to also take an active role in the movement of change because we are the leaders of tomorrow.
