Making History

Young people from across the country are pilgrimaging to Washington, D.C. to witness the most historic inauguration of all time. Many don’t even have tickets.

By Christopher Wink
January 14, 2009

At least one student doesn’t have very far to go to see a seminal moment in American history. To see Barack Obama inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America next week, Jonathan Cohn, a Georgetown University junior, can walk. Cohn lives in Washington, D.C., and will be among the millions who are expected to crowd the nation’s capital for Obama’s historic oath. Cohn will be part of what may be the largest contingent of college students at a presidential inauguration in the event’s 220-year history.

"That’s going to be the time when the country is going to come to a stop," said Jim Bendat, author of Democracy’s Big Day, a historical account of U.S. presidential inaugurations, a book he updated in 2008. "I think that 12-noon Eastern time, the main part of the day, will be something that young people will remember for a long time."

"It’s pretty evident that unlike most inaugurations, a lot of people seem to want be in Washington. Even if they don’t have a ticket," Bendat said. "There are a lot of people out there who feel a need to be a part of history." Many of them are college students, like Bendat’s own daughter, who is traveling to D.C. for the event. Like many, she arrives without a ticket but carrying a strong desire to be a participant in the events.

"Prior inaugurations probably had people with more money, more culture. People who were older and living in the region," said Kachet Jackson-Henderson, a senior at San Jose State University who will be in D.C. on Jan. 20. "I don’t feel there will be a majority. It will be like a rainbow. I’ll see every age group, but there will be more young people [than in other years]."

Jackson-Henderson is part of a group of ten students from San Jose State who are driving to D.C. With a professor and others, they will follow the Civil Rights movement by making six stops in the South that were integral to the fight for racial-political equality, finishing by watching the installation of the nation’s first black president.

"People who were running for the Democratic nominee this year weren’t the typical old white guys," Jackson-Henderson said. "Before this trip [was planned] I knew I was going—Greyhound bus, hitchhike, raise money for an airplane ticket, whatever it had to be."

Of course, she isn’t alone. The Presidential Inaugural Committee isn’t releasing any guesses on how many people it thinks will crowd the nation’s capital. Outside estimates have varied wildly, from one million to more than three million. Because of the attention, the committee has reserved more than a dozen jumbotrons to bring a live video stream of the ceremony to the non-ticketed public on the National Mall.

"We can say it seems likely this inauguration will have the largest number of people to ever attend," said Shin Inouye, spokesman for the inaugural committee. The student contingent will also likely be the largest in history, Inouye said, citing Obama’s voting and donation support among young people. The inaugural parade is packed with marching bands from colleges and universities across the country, like Howard, Ohio State, and Florida A&M.

Jackson-Henderson and her fellow journalism-school classmates who are traveling from across the country will be in D.C. interviewing attendees, revelers, and protesters, trying to find "their stories."

While the election was thrilling, Jackson-Henderson said, the inauguration is the celebration. And college students want in on it. "More young people got involved in the politics of 2008 than probably ever occurred," Bendat said. "The inauguration is simply a follow-up to the presidential election."

While some want to witness the historical event for themselves, others, like Jackson-Henderson, say they are doing it for family members. Jackson-Henderson, a 21-year-old black woman, said her 85-year-old grandmother cried when Obama was elected. "She said she never thought she’d see the day a black man was president," Jackson-Henderson said. "I want to be [in D.C.] for her."

Cohn, the Georgetown senior, said he understands the attention that the inauguration is getting. "I’ve heard that all inaugurations are the same. It’s freezing cold, and you can’t see anything," he said. "But I think a lot of people are attracted to come, just to say you are part of the experience. Even if you are far away, just a dot in history, you can say you were there."

Christopher Wink is a freelance journalist and blogger based in Philadelphia and graduated from Temple University in 2008. Contact him at ChristopherWink.com.

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Comments

1. Join the Activist Coalition of DC in McPherson Square for Inauguration fun and activism! Tell President Obama what you HOPE for and then find out how to make it happen!

   WeHopeforChange.org

   inaugurationaction.b…

   — Barbra Bearden - Jan 15, 01:19 PM - #
   
   

2. Yay! Great story. I can’t wait to bear witness to the type of change we can believe in. :-)

   — Asha Patel - Jan 15, 09:05 PM - #
   
   

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