Concert at the Lincoln Memorial

Just woke up from a power nap after spending nine hours at the Lincoln Memorial (we lined up at 8am for the 2:30 concert!). We're waiting for our cab to take us to the Asian American community reception here in Virginia, but until then, some of the highlights...
(we were pretty close - but you couldn't really see the stage, which was blocked by the VIP section and the camera crews. you had to watch the jumbotrons)

Highlights: Denzel Washington opening...Peete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen leading the crowd in "This Land is Your Land," with ALL the stanzas, including the more radical and populist ones...Seeing Malia so excited, taking pictures of Beyonce and other celebrities on her digital camera...Jamie Foxx's spot-on Obama impression that had Sasha screaming with laughter...Barack and Michelle nodding their heads and dancing in their seats to Mary J's "Lean On Me"...Herbie Hancock doing Bob Marley...Forest Whitaker (who takes Escrima classes from Danny Inosanto in LA)...George Lopez...Kal Penn...and surprise, Beyonce wrapping up the afternoon in a conservative pantsuit belting out an emotional "America the Beautiful."



Possibly the most powerful moments, at least for me, included Queen Latifah introducing archival footage of Marian Anderson singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. I was equally moved when Samuel J. Jackson introduced U2. They went immediately into an impassioned performance of "Pride (In the Name of Love)," the song Bono wrote for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with 400,000 people screaming "In the name of love!" Did you know that song is about King? To hear it played with such love and passion on the same steps where King delivered "I Have a Dream" was so moving, especially on the eve of King's birthday celebration, and on the eve of the inauguration of the nation's first black president. The steps of the Lincoln Memorial heaved and ached with history today.


When this image flashed on the monitors, everyone lost it.

Obama was the biggest celeb at this concert, which included the world's biggest celebs. His speech was a call to action for us; inspirational, with his usual eloquence. It was a call to greater responsibility for our generation. Of course, he got the biggest screams; he's the biggest rock star amongst the rock stars assembled today. Every time Obama, or any member of the family, flashed on the Jumbotrons, the 400,000+ people lost their minds yelling and screaming.

It's difficult to really describe the mood here. You can't quite put your finger on it. Elation, relief, joy. The crowd today was mixed -- diversity of age, race, gender, region, etc. Baby boomers in the crowd are looking relieved and renewed. Their children feel inspired for the first time in 8 years, and those of Generation Y are just loving this big party, not quite getting why everyone keeps crying and getting emotional when it's all supposed to be fun. It's like we just hit "reset" as a nation and we're having a huge party to celebrate. People are walking around looking like they can't quite believe that they are there, as if they need someone to pinch them and tell them it wasn't all a dream. Everyone here feels this sense of renewal, and we are all having the time of their lives.

Monumental events have occurred on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and around the reflecting pool. Of course, the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom comes to mind as probably the most familiar one. Being there with half a million people, all of us cognizant (well, one can hope) of how much has been sacrificed so this moment could happen, at the Lincoln Memorial, was more powerful than words. The concert was part political rally, part pop concert, and part history lesson.

In a sense, this was the dry run for Tuesday, in both a practical way (navigating through the mall and the road closures and all the bodies) and in a very spiritual one as well. What we need for Tuesday: blankets, more snacks (I stood in line for 2 hours for hot dogs and hot cocoa today!), hand and foot warmers...so excited for Tuesday.