I remember so vividly sitting in front of the television hour after hour, staring at the images on the screen with tears streaming down my face, knowing that I, and millions of other Americans, were witnessing a turning point in history.
The date was November 25, 1963, and the event was the funeral of President John F. Kennedy. The day was cold and overcast. The voices of the media were subdued and reverential, with an occasional slight lapse in composure. The screen displayed the solemn events as they unfolded minute by minute – streets lined with weeping people, the slow-moving catafalque, the rider-less horse. I could not take my eyes away. I could not stop my tears. I sat transfixed by grief all day and into the evening, a witness to history. I thought I would never see another day like it.
Then, on September 11, 2001, it happened again. The television screen showed images of unbelievable pain and suffering. The voices of the commentators were again hushed and reverential, occasionally cracking with emotion. For a second time I sat in front of the television for hour upon hour, unable to tear myself away - weeping, grieving, cognizant that I was once again a spectator to a major historic event.
This Tuesday, I will again sit before the television set and watch for many hours with tear-filled eyes, as I witness yet another historic milestone. But the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama, the first African-American to ascend to the office of the President of the United States, will be a celebration, not a tragedy. The tears I shed will be tears of joy. The images I see will be scenes of triumph. The media voices will be robust with pride.
I have lived long enough to witness, via the technology of broadcast media, both terrible tragedies and unbelievable triumphs. Television has brought me the Technicolor horrors of the Viet Nam War as well as the grainy black and white footsteps of Neil Armstrong in the lunar dust. It has shown me images of Black children being spat upon simply because they wanted to go to school. Tuesday it will show me pictures of a Black man taking the Oath of Office.
How far we’ve come. How far we’ve yet to go.