Today's Moment at the Inauguration

As I watched today's coverage of the inauguration there were many moments that I looked forward to.  There were many moments that I will remember.  The speech, the parade, the moment Michele walked out in her Jason Wu gown.  But in THIS moment, we saw the real President Barack Obama and the man we should be praying for.





Other moments...
President Obama taking his oath of office


President and First Lady Obama greeting onlookers in the parade


The First Family enjoying themselves during the parade


President and First Lady Obama dancing at the inaugural ball

President Barack Obama's Second Inauguration

"Let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom." 

President Barack Obama

Here is a the full transcipt of President Obama's speech as prepared for delivery:

"Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional - what makes us American - is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

For more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people. This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together.

For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.

We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other - through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security - these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries - we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure - our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.

We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully - not because we are naive about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice - not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths - that all of us are created equal - is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm. That is our generation’s task - to make these words, these rights, these values - of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time - but it does require us to act in our time.

For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.

My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction - and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.

You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.

You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time - not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.

Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.

Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America."

Happy MLK Day!

Today we formally recognize the life contributions of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. to the United States of America and to the world.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. The floating holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, though the act predated the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by 15 years.

The idea of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations.After King's death, United States Representative John Conyers (a Democrat from Michigan) and United States Senator Edward Brooke (a Republican from Massachusetts) introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979. However, it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage. Two of the main arguments mentioned by opponents were that a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive, and that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition (King had never held public office). Only three other persons have national holidays in the United States honoring them: George Washington, Christopher Columbus, and Jesus.

Soon after, the King Center turned to support from the corporate community and the general public. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single "Happy Birthday" to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. Six million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 article in The Nation as "the largest petition in favor of an issue in U.S. history."

The bill established the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission to oversee observance of the holiday, and Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, was made a member of this commission for life by President George H. W. Bush in May 1989

Pictured left is Coretta Scott King at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day signing ceremony

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._Day

This year President Obama issued the annual proclamation of MLK day: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/18/presidential-proclamation-martin-luther-king-jr-federal-holiday-2013=

Canvas & Pen...Art and Literature 2012 Spotlights

Last year our canvas & pen spotlight was on artist Monica Stewart and writer Tia McCollors.  Stay tuned to our Canvas & Pen tab for this spring's spotlight on artist Jacob Lawrence and author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  We'll have a book club schedule for a couple of Adichie's books as well as a teaching guide for some of Lawrence's art.  Can't wait!

But for now, here's a bit about Monica Stewart and Tia McCollors:

CANVAS
Monica Stewart's "Flow"

Flow by Monica Stewart

I came across Monica Stewart's art a few years ago and "Flow" is my favorite.  This piece seems to echo an ongoing celebration of the beauty of women of color.  Here's a little more about the artist:

Monica Stewart is an African-American artist who resides in Northern California's Bay Area. She has a number of fine art originals, open edition and limited editions prints available. Her work can be seen on television and is also featured on the 1998 Bank of America Commemorative Calendar. Monica is known for her unique use of pastels, brilliant colors and sensitive interpretations of people of color. Monica has recently changed her style and explains,

"My earlier work was predominately rendered with vibrant pastels. As a challenge for myself I decided to reduce my palette to a limited amount of color. Over the last two years I have been working on a material made from Egyptian palm fronds. This material with its natural textures and rich tan and brown colors makes an art statement of its own. It lends itself nicely to the ethnic feel of my latest work. On the Egyptian palm fronds I paint using a combination of mediums, which include India ink, acrylic paint and opaque watercolor. I really enjoy painting positive imagery of people. This can be seen in the majority of my work. In particular Rejoice and Whisper. I look forward to experimenting with other mediums and textures and I will continue to express and share my joy of living through my artwork".

Monica Stewart's paintings reflect a natural ability that was noticed by others quite early in her life. Throughout her school years she was encouraged by her parents and teachers to pursue a career in the art field.

Monica has become a nationally recognized artist. Her work has been seen in various movies and TV programs such as : "Waiting to Exhale, "Romeo Must Die," and the sitcom "Living Single." Monica's artwork has been featured on the California State Lottery and Bank of America calendars. Her images are also featured on a line of family record books, journals, and photo albums. Monica's paintings and prints can be found in many galleries and stores across the country.

Monica enjoys working in various mediums. Through her work Monica says that she enjoys exploring typical human experiences. She feels that she has obtained her goal when the viewer can enjoy her work and find a meaning that is both unique and personal.

http://www.jibacgallery.com/stewart/stewart.htm

Of her work, and the predominance of women in her paintings, Stewart says:

“I have a good understanding of myself as a woman, so I do tend to paint a lot of women. I have a lot of girlfriends, and we talk a lot. So in my work you’ll see a lot of women interchanging, talking, doing whatever.”

http://www.blackartdepot.com/monicastewart-bio.htm

To find more about Monica Stewart's art, visit her website:  http://www.monicastewart.com/

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PEN

"Steppin Into The Good Life"

by Tia McCollars

Steppin Into The Good Life tells the story of Sheila who discovers that with faith, tough love, and some tough decisions, Shelia realizes that the life she'd been praying for she could have for herself is actually attainable.

Bestselling author Tia McCollors entices the taste buds of her readers with a sweet blend of faith and fiction in her inspirational novels. After leaving a 10-year career in the corporate arena as a public relations professional, Tia has emerged as a steadfast author of faith-based books.

In addition to being a novelist, Tia is an inspirational speaker and instructor for writing workshops. In 2006, Tia was voted as the Breakout Author of the Year by the Open Book Awards of the African American Literary Awards Show and was honored to be featured in the 2006 edition of Who’s Who In Black Atlanta.  A native of Greensboro, NC, McCollors is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill.

For more about McCollors, visit her website:  http://tiamccollors.com/

Happy Birthday George Washington Carver!

"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."
– George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver, scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. The exact day and year of his birth are unknown; he is believed to have been born into slavery in Missouri in January 1864 so we celebrate the birthday of this great man today.

Carver's reputation is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, which also aided nutrition for farm families. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts. He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin.

He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP.  During the Reconstruction-era South, monoculture of cotton depleted the soil in many areas. In the early 20th century, the boll weevil destroyed much of the cotton crop, and planters and farm workers suffered. Carver's work on peanuts was intended to provide an alternative crop.

Check out this video about Carver here:

Read more about George Washington Carver:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299

http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventors/a/GWC.htm

Creativity and Faith...Happy Kwanzaa

On the 6th day of Kwanzaa we celebrated Kuumba... Creativity.  We are encouraged to do always as much as we can, in the way that we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.

Today on the 7th and final day of Kwanzaa we celebrate Imani...Faith.  Today we are reminded to believe with all of our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Find out more about Kwanzaa: http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org