Rowan Family Reunion - Celebrating Eight Generations

February 19, 2009

President Barack Obama - First African American President of the U.S.

President Obama 2009

President Barack Obama - 44th President of the United States

On Tuesday, January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th president of the nited States, pledging hope and unity to a nation hungry for both.

With hsi wife, Michelle, holding Abraham Lincoln's inauguration Bible, Obama, the 47 year old son of a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Africa, was sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. He raised his right hand and promised to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution before a sea of witnessess that stretched more than a mile into the distance on the National Mall.

The crownd that swarmed into the capital to see the transfer of power was estimated at nearly 2 million - more than the population of 15 states - while a record television audience was expected to watch the leader who has captured the imagination of the nation and much of the world.

It was, by all accounts, the largest crowd ever for a U. S. presidential inauguration, and perhaps the largest public gathering in Washington's history. Staid streets normally dotted with lobbyists and bureaucrats transformed overnight into a giant party populated by Americans of every color and creed, stretching from the overflowing inbounds trains at Union Station to the banks of the iced-over Potomac. Strangers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the freezing cold watching the event on Jumbotrons, and climbed on statues to catch a glimpse of the man extolled on their shirts and hats.

Obama told Americans that "The challenges we face are real. They are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span to time"

"But know this, America - they will be met," he declared to cheers from the crowd. "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and fase promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics."

We celebrate the election of President Obama during this Black History Month. Please continue to pray for him and his family as he leds this nation to a better today and brighter tomorrow.

More information on President Obama is available on the Presidnet Obama link. If you have pictures to share from the inauguration, please upload them to this site. Thank you.