Inauguration 2009 Festivities: We Are One Concert

wow! this is going to be such a crazy weekend! authorities have been reporting that millions of people are planning on being in the DC area for this Inauguration and it definitely has shown! our neighborhood is full of people walking, biking, trying to find parking. it is so great to see people out and about, even though it is 19 degrees outside! (I am never hating complaining about a Fresno winter. walking to work in 12 degree weather is no fun! I'm never complaining again.)

to kick off the weekend of festivities before Obama's swearing in ceremony, there was a huge free concert on the "stage" of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall today to celebrate Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and the other amazing achievements of social justice advocates.

my view from the closest street before security check points:


the "stage" of the Lincoln:


the "We Are One" concert featured musical artists and actors singing songs and reading historical passages. I dashed as quickly as I could from church to get over to the Mall. I wasn't able to get through the security check point to be in the section closest to the Lincoln Memorial, but there were large, jumbo-tron screens set-up along the Mall towards the Washington Monument that projected the concert. my housemate Annabeth and I had difficultly finding a place to view the screen because we are so short! it is at moments like that where I wish I was a few inches taller to be able to see over people!



Denzel Washington opened the concert with a reading on the theme "We Are One."


Bruce Springsteen sang his newly famous song "The Rising."


Mary J. Blige sang an uhMAEzing version of "Lean On Me." people around us were singing, dancing, and clapping in celebration! such life and love to share!


even Steve Carrel was a presenter! it was really hard to take him seriously, taking about the Civil Rights movement when my brain kept hearing Michael Scott!


U2 was a big highlight of the concert. the crowd was so energized during their song.


the screens showed Obama rockin' out a couple times and it made everyone laugh seeing him nod his head to the music.


one of the best performances, that I wasn't able to get a picture of, was Stevie Wonder, Usher, and Shakira singing "Higher Ground." Stevie is definitely someone that I want to see in concert.

an uhMAEzing two hour concert all celebrating the hopes and dreams of the American people and the next administration! so exciting!


trying to take a metro train back from the concert would have been a nightmare. instead of walked home, not too far, around 3 miles. on the way, conveniently, I stopped by the White House. my life is so different this year and I hope to learn about from 2009!