Obama gears up for America's great celebration

Beverly Hicks met with Barack Obama during his visit to Racine
Beverly Hicks poses with President-elect Barack Obama during a brief meeting she had with him at Memorial Hall.
She is among a group of about 25 supporters that was invited to the Inauguration Ceremony in Washington DC.

The inauguration ceremony of President-elect, Barack Obama, scheduled for January 20, 2009 is expected to draw a record-breaking crowd of at least four million people, with African Americans making up a sizable number.

There will be people from all walks of life who will come to Washington to witness this historical event. About twenty five people from Racine will be among those in attendance.
Gloria Rogers of Racine will be attending the event with about 25 others from throughout the city. Rogers who grew up in the South during segregation says that she never thought she would see an African American elected to the presidency. Rogers said, “I never thought it would be possible, so it is important for me to say to my grandchildren that I was there.”

Law enforcement officials are bracing for the largest crowds in inaugural history. They are preparing far-reaching security to safeguard President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in. However, security cannot keep Beverly Hicks, former president of the local branch of the NAACP from attending. Hicks who had an opportunity to briefly sit with Obama during his primary campaign visit to Racine. “Attending Obama’s rallies over six times and personally meeting him while he was in Racine I feel a closeness, and obligated to attend the inauguration to see history unfold,” says Beverly Hicks.

The National Park Service says the largest crowd ever recorded on the National Mall was for President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 inauguration. At the time, the park service estimated 1.2 million people were in attendance.