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Sense of pride makes trip worthwhile

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When my alarm clock went off at 6 a.m. and my husband turned on the television, I thought, “Oh, my gosh, we’re late.” Thousands of people had already begun filling up the Washington Mall, Lincoln Memorial and subways.

We scrambled to get dressed in layer after layer in hopes of not letting the cold beat us. With highs of 30 degrees and a low of 18, including a five-hour day ahead of walking and standing (in possible snow), we prepared as if our lives depended on it.

Our hotel was beautiful, connecting to a tunnel that led to the subway. That gave us a 30-minute grace period before we met the cold face to face.

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Believe it or not, this was my first time on a subway. I don’t do the underground stuff in L.A. because of earthquakes, so I was out of my element.

Two trains later, after being packed nose to nose, I got ready to meet the cold head on but among a crowd full of warmth and energy. We walked one mile down the highway, through another tunnel onto 2nd Street with people harmonizing, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

We still had a pep in our step until we got to the end of the tunnel only to find it was leading in the wrong direction. I was too cold to be angry, so Michael and I turned around, walked back a mile and got a ride on a pedi cab, which cost $5 per minute. We got off in three minutes, because the driver was sweating profusely. We were too heavy for the woman driver going uphill. We hiked the mile back, jumped the median and exited the highway to 1st Street, where the people with purple tickets were supposed to enter.

We finally joined a crowd on 1st Street and stood in a large crowd that became stagnant. Afraid this was the end of our long journey, I had to think quick or stand there taking pictures with fans for the next four hours. To my surprise, I overheard a man talking to his friend saying the entrance one block over was wide open. As he told some people and scurried off, I said, “Babe, let’s go.” We walked one block over and hope was alive! We walked straight to the entrance without delay and the Capitol was in sight.

After passing tight security, we reached our destination. You know, there are front-row seats and back-row seats and then people stand? That’s where we were. Standing, yet still excited. I yelled as if I had won something:

“Yes, We Can.”

Well, in actuality we all felt like winners. It was such a melting pot.

There were even children and babies in the crowd. Now, as a mom, I must admit I said over and over, “I don’t know why they would bring that baby out here!”

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But as I looked around, it was beautiful to see our nation together no matter what color or creed. Or age. We were together.

Even when the crowd sang to former President Bush, “Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye!”

It must have been a sad moment for the former president, but it was within that moment the crowd felt a change was soon to come.

As an African American woman, it feels liberating to see Barack Obama as the president. African Americans have often times felt like a distant cousin in America. Now we feel like immediate family with a seat at the table.

With that said, I hope that our African American communities will use this as inspiration to volunteer and help each other.

As for me, being a part of history and traveling more than 2,500 miles, walking the last five, I feel honored and changed forever.

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Lisa Leslie plays for the WNBA’s Sparks and is a four-time Olympic gold medalist.

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