Monday, January 19 2009 - Dedicated to the Proposition: One Woman Sings
Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon >>More
Today we continue our series of stories that explores what the inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow means for those who actively fought for civil rights.
Yesterday, Barack Obama spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and recalled the words Martin Luther King spoke at the March on Washington. Bernice Johnson-Reagon performed at the 1963 March on Washington with the Freedom Singers. The day before the march, they finished a gig in California and took a red-eye flight to D.C. Bernice says although she was not nervous, she was overwhelmed by the large number of people who decided to come to one place and take a massive stance against racism.
One Story from the Crowd
Donna Perkins-Potts
Yesterday at the inauguration festivities, actor Samuel L. Jackson talked about the March on Washington. He said that the power of the march came from the fact that so many ordinary people attended it. Donna Perkins-Potts was one of those ordinary Americans. She was only 17 years old in 1963. After hearing Dr. King's speech, Donna returned to her semi-segregated college motivated to create change.