photo: Serena Paynter (center) celebrates with her Kleenex close at hand
They gathered at the Harrison Museum of African American Culture on Tuesday to watch Barack Hussein Obama be sworn in as 44th President of the United States. There were officials of the museum and friends, about twenty in all, as someone who looked like them took the torch from George W. Bush.
Museum board chair Serena Paynter remembers the waning days of segregation in her native Bedford County: “it is undoubtedly one of the happiest moments of my life. I was pretty overwhelmed all morning. It forced me to reflect on my life.”
“Its history, its so emotional,” said Wanda Austin, manager at the Harrison Museum, which is kicking off a two million dollar capital campaign, funds it will need to move from an old school in Gainsboro to a new home at Center in the Square. “Its something many of us never thought we would see in our lifetime.”
Museum director Bamidele Demerson said the Obama presidency “resonates in ways that have implications for this museum. It certainly brings renewed interest and understanding of …inter-ethnic relations. Beyond that it reminds us about a time for examining identity. The story of African Americans is search for democracy, the search for dignity, the search for justice – the search for freedom. The story we tell here … resonates.”
Maxine Wright was overcome by the occasion. “I never knew I’d be able to see the first African American president. Its overwhelming …its wonderful.”
(full story in this week’s Roanoke Star-Sentinel! – Thursday )
No comments:
Post a Comment