This was my favorite part of the Inauguration (besides the obvious):
Even the audience had a great reaction to this. Obama made a great choice in having this man offer him the first official prayer of his Presidency.
The whole thing was great, but this was the best part:
We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right.
Here's the transcript:
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.
We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.
For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.
We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.
And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.
And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.
Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.
We go now to walk together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone, with your hands of power and your heart of love.
Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: Say amen --
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)
UPDATE From the comments:
The words you find so compelling come from Big Bill Broonzy's "Black, Brown and White Blues."
This little song that I'm singin' about,
people, you know that it's true
If you're black and gotta work for livin',
now, this is what they will say to you,
they says, "If you was white, you'd be alright,
if you was brown, stick around,
but if you're black, oh, brother, get back, get back, get back"
I was in a place one night,
they was all havin' fun,
They was all buyin' beer and wine,
But they would not sell me none,
they said, "If you was white, You'd be alright,
If you was brown, stick around,
but as you's black, oh, brother, get back, get back, get back."
I went to an employment office,
I got a number and I got in line,
They called everybody's number,
but they never did call mine.
They said, "If you was white, you'd be alright,
if you was brown, stick around,
but as you's black, oh, brother, get back, get back, get back."
Me and a man workin' side by side,
this is what it meant
They was payin' him a dollar an hour,
and they was payin' me fifty cent.
They said, "If you was white, you'd be alright,
If you was brown, stick around,
but as you's black, oh, brother, get back, get back, get back."
I helped build the country,
and I fought for it too,
now, I guess that you can see,
what a black man have to do.
They says, "If you was white, you's alright,
if you was brown, stick around,
but as you's black, oh, brother, get back, get back, get back."
I helped win sweet victory,
with my little plow and hoe
Now, I want you to tell me, brother,
what you gonna do 'bout old Jim Crow?
Now, if you is white, you's alright,
if you's brown, stick around,
But if you's black, hmmm, hmmm, brother,
get back, get back, get back.
Big Bill Broonzy was a blues and jazz guitarist and performer. He made several recordings in the '30s, then sort of dropped out till the late '40s or early '50s, when he was rediscovered (working as a janitor at Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa). This song was a post-war protest song -- note the last verse.
Broonzy was a great, if not well-known, musician. I liked his records, 'back in the day,' and may have learned a little from him, even if by osmosis.
Ed