Much has changed about both me and the world in the past eight years. As opposed to me being in middle school, I am now a (graduating) college senior, there's an app for literally everything, "Netflix 'n' Chill" is a "thing", and billionaire businessman and reality TV extraordinaire, Donald Trump, has become the 45th President of the United States. Monumental changes, right?
We live in a world where taboo things can actually be the norm and a pussy grabbing dude can become the head of our Executive Branch, but I want to reflect on a time where a 13-year-old black girl was given the opportunity to see Barack Obama sworn into office. A time where Young Jeezy's song "My President" was revolutionary and the 2016 creation of YG and Nipsey Hussle's song "FDT" (Fuck Donald Trump) went unfathomed.
When I found out the marching band I danced in, the Brooklyn "Steppers" Marching Band, was selected to perform at then President-Elect Obama's 2009 Inaugural parade, the terms exhilaration and elation were minuscule in conveying how the entire band, our families, and our community felt as a whole. The New York Times even produced an article titled, "A Bed-Stuy Band Prepares for a Brush with History" embedded with details of our band's members being from inner-city neighborhoods, the band director noting how amazing being apart of this historical event was, and the fact that we had to raise $20,000 for the trip. The "Steppers" did not let money become a deterrent- we fund raised by showcasing our talents right on the sidewalks, sold remarkable amounts of Krispy Kreme donuts, and eventually had donations pouring in from everywhere. And in just a few weeks, we marched down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Tears streamed down many of our faces as we performed. Not just because of the bitter cold we were up against, but because a sign posted along the parade route read, "EYES LEFT", we looked over, and a gleaming first family waved as we marched past playing Stevie Wonder's "Another Star". I recall these tears of joy coming with an overwhelming, new found sense of pride in my blackness and an undeniable feeling of Obama's favorite word, hope.
Eight years have passed and the Presidential Inauguration was not a symbol of advancement or a day of jubilee for me. It was an event with riots and a bad turn out. The Presidential Inauguration had no Brooklyn marching band filled with kids celebrating their new president, but millions of women across the nation marching to admonish a misogynist running the White House. Monumental changes, right?
#iWentToBarackObamas2009Inauguration and it was nothing like this.
