Inaugural Reflections: A New Day is Here

Inaugural Reflections: A New Day is Here January 20, 2017

presidential inaugurationWe here at R3 ask people to share some of their reflections of the Inauguration of now President Donald Trump and on former president and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama. If you would like to share your reflections, please email us at rhetoricraceandreligion@gmail.com

This is a very sad day for me. I am beyond words with what a terrible choice Trump is for the US. But I am going to remember my ancestors as we move into this new error. I come from a long line of stubborn and resistant people. My people fought for what they believed to be right. My Dad pushed the system, protesting with letter writing campaigns and petition drives. My Mennonite and Huguenot ancestors were killed for their religious beliefs. My ancestors fought in the Revolution and the Civil War. My story is not unique. That’s what Americans are–resistant and idealistic. With that in mind I will be moving into the next four years.-Amy Earhart

When you lose someone close to you, there’s a part of you that doesn’t want anything to change after they are gone. You don’t want anything new to happen because you can’t share the experience with them. It’s a bizarre but real part of grief. My mama loved the Obamas. LOVED THEM. She brought me to tears on election night describing how she, a woman who was born in Jim Crow Savannah, Georgia never thought she’d lived to see the day. She adored Michelle Obama and loved watching her raise her girls– even as she criticized the First Lady for “showing her arms” in public in that adorable way that older black women throw shade. As a doting and protective grandmother, she related to Mother Robinson dropping everything to move to D.C. I can still hear her say “can’t nobody care for your kids like family.” This is my first inauguration without my mommy. And the pain and horror of a Trump Presidency is only exacerbated by my personal loss. As a lifelong New Yorker, I grew up with both of my parents denouncing his despicable behavior. I refuse to watch this inauguration, but if mommy was here she would be watching all day and calling my sister Dorothy and I with her humorous yet biting commentary. So as I reflect on the end of an era, I wish to thank the Obama Family for giving my mama such joy. And now I’m left wondering how I will endure the terror of a Trump presidency without her.-Tiffany Gill

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