Richard Nkansah hopes that in 20 years, a presidential candidate like Barack Obama will be not seen for his race, but for his qualifications to serve.
“As president, Obama has taken some very big steps in breaking down racial barriers,” Nkansah, a first-year chemistry graduate student. “A lot in the past has led to this point. I’d be very excited in 10 or 20 years to look at future elections and see more diversity, but not see it as a big deal8212;(to see someone like Obama) as just another guy.”
Nkansah was one of two students from the U’s Black Student Union to travel to Washington, D.C., to witness the inauguration of President Obama on Jan. 20.
Along with senior theater major Erica Richardson, Nkansah won inauguration tickets through an essay contest in which students in the Black Student Union were invited to write about the impact of the 2008 elections and Obama’s presidency on their lives and the lives of Americans.
Betty Sawyer, adviser to the Black Student Union in the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs, received the funding and tickets to take two students with her and her family to the inauguration. Sawyer used the essay contest to determine which students would come with her.
Richardson said her essay addressed the way Obama’s election has brought the country closer together.
“It’s a great moment for us as a people, not just black people, but people period8212;we all fought so hard,” Richardson said. “This election has ignited so much hope in everyone, especially for the black community. For the first time in a long time, the American dream can be realized for people of color.”
Richardson said an Obama presidency inspires all Americans to work hard and work together, and said although she realizes it is not the end of racism in the United States, it’s a start.
While traveling to Washington, D.C., Nkansah said it was great to see so many people of different backgrounds coming to the inauguration. He said he met one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, which was the first group of black military airmen, and also met an adviser of the Ute Indian Tribe who was planning to meet with Obama and some of his advisers to create a relationship between the tribe and the new presidential administration.
On Inauguration Day, the students woke up at 4 a.m. to make it from their hotel near Capitol Hill to their entrance gate on the National Mall by 5 a.m., which Nkansah said was already crowded when they arrived. Their ticketed section was right behind the seated area on the Mall. They stood outside in the cold weather until the inauguration started, but once Obama was sworn in, Nkansah said everyone was doing well.
“Barack’s speech was excellent,” Nkansah said. He said he liked Obama’s message of responsibility and the duty Americans have to themselves as a nation and to the world. This message also included the responsibility to maintain and enhance the livelihood that the nation’s forefathers worked so hard to lay out, he said.
“We need to take the steps to do the same thing for future generations,” Nkansah said.
After the inauguration, Nkansah and Richardson tried their best to rush to the airport, but were deterred by closed Metro stations, a lack of taxis and road closures. They made it to the airport just in time to check their bags and board, Nkansah said.
“Definitely the closest call I’ve ever made,” he said. “But it was all worth the experience.”
Nkansah said he had considered all candidates from the beginning of the race, but for Richardson the choice to support Obama came much earlier.
“Barack Obama pretty much had me at hello,” Richardson said.
She said Obama has the ability to inspire all Americans to work toward the American dream, especially at such a difficult time for the country.
“If a 5-year-old black boy wants to be a doctor, he can look at Obama and say “I can be that doctor8212;I’ll work hard at it,'” Richardson said.