Reflecting on January 20, 2009 on January 20, 2017

Written with Celestine Compton

January 25, 2017

Some point during our attempts to process the current political plight of our nation, we revisited our photographs from President Obama’s first inauguration, which we had been fortunate enough to attend.  We knew then that the photographs we took that day would have a special standing between the pages of our other negatives.  Like the nearly two million people packed into the National Mall, we were there to witness history in the making.

The election of the first African-American president of the United States was a symbolic turning point in our country.  The day felt celebratory but solemn. The new president brought with him a message of hope in a country where the economy and morale were equally depressed. As he spoke, the president's words echoed against the trees, the Washington monument and the rows of port-a-johns lining the mall. For most people, the sheer size of the crowd made viewing the event nearly impossible, but the content of his words and the sound of his voice made its way to every part of the crowd that January day.  And though protestors were present, they were a drop in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool compared to the enormous assemblage of supporters there to commemorate the day. In any case, the reflecting pool was frozen solid.

Looking at these photographs, eight years later, their context has certainly changed. Much has happened, and we've experienced a landslide of thoughts and emotions towards all that took place in those years, especially this last one. These pictures no longer seem to represent a point in history from which time has progressed, but rather a point in history from which we have moved away. Viewing our photographs did little to relieve the frustration and dismay of the present. Still, we feel the photographs stand as a good reminder that the pendulum swings in both directions and that, throughout history, what seems impossible can happen, has happened and will happen again.