Black America's biggest inaugural bash - Pres Clinton - includes poem by Maya Angelou for Inauguration ceremonies

Ebony, March, 1993 by Laura B. Randolph

MAYBE it's because there hasn't been a Democratic president in 12 years. Maybe it was the overwhelming number of Black voters---82 percent whose support made his victory possible. Maybe it was a sign of faith in his promise to be president of all the people.

Whatever it was, a record number of Black Americans-young and old, rich and poor, famous and unknown-- flocked to the nation's capital for An American Reunion, the five-day celebration of the inauguration of William Jefferson Clinton as the nations 42nd president.

"African-Americans have responded to the president so strongly because we have been included in the Clinton agenda from the beginning," says Alexis Herman, assistant to the president. "This is not something that happened just for inauguration week."

And what a week it was. When Clinton arrived at the Lincoln Memorial for A Call for Reunion, the inaugural's official opening ceremony, half a million people were waiting to greet his 15-bus caravan after a seven-hour, 120-mile journey from Thomas Jeffersons home at Monticello, Va.

For Black America, the Quincy Jonesproduced extravaganza was particularly stirring as the array of Black talent was awe-inspiring. Ray Charles sang "America the Beautiful." Luther Vandross led an all-star round of "Stand By Me." Aretha Franklin sang "Someday We'll All Be Free" and "Respect." And hundreds of Black and White spectators joined hands and cried as Kathleen Battle sang "We Shall Overcome."

Between songs, several of the country's most esteemed Black luminaries-- including James Earl Jones, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte and Oprah Winfrey--lent their voicos in recitations that ran the gamut from poetry to political speeches.

"When was the last time you felt welcome in Washington?" Whoopi Goldberg asked the cheering, dancing, screaming crowd moments before Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder appeared on stage to lead an all-star chorus of "We Are The World."

By the time the song ended, the first family stood center stage singing along before leaving to lead a massive procession across Memorial Bridge, where they rang a replica of the Liberty Bell in a ceremony titled "The Bells of Hope."

Numerous Blacks, like Zella Nash, an 85-year-old native Arkansan who traveled from Wisconsin to Washington for the inaugural, said that title couldn't be more fitting. "There's a new spirit of hope and inclusion in Black America and everyone feels it," she said. "That's why so many of us traveled so far to be here."

The true test of the new era will come in the months ahead in the programs and policies President Clinton champions. But, Black leaders agree, he has already made it clear that there will be a dramatic change in the White House.

"This is a president who has given us all kinds of signals that this will be an administration far more inclusive than in the past," said Spelman College President Dr, Johnnetta Cole who, with Duke Ellington School of the Arts founder Peggy Cooper Carritz, hosted a luncheon honoring Maya Angelou.

The symbolism was profound. The new president:

* Selected Maya Angelou to represent America as the first Inaugural poet since Robert Frost took the podium at John F. Kennedy's swearingin.

* Spent the Martin Luther King Jr holiday at one of the most prestigious historically Black universities honor ing the slain civil rights leader.

* Chose Metropolitan AME Church --a 121-year old Black church that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad--as his place to worship. It was the first time the traditional inaugural morning prayer service was held at a Black church.

To reinforce the symbolism and-- more significantly, aides said--to leave no doubt it had a larger purpose, Clinton made sure his speeches spelled out his commitment. "I will try to follow the powerful example of Dr. Kings conviction into these new responsibilities," he pledged at Howard Universitys Martin Luther King Jr. celebration before singing "We Shall Overcome" with Martin Luther King III and a whos who chorus of Black leaders.

By the time Clinton stood with daughter Chelsea and wife Hillary Redham Clinton to take the oath of office from Chief Justice William Rehnquist, he had sent an unmistakable message to America of what his election was all about: Unity. Inclusion. Hope. Change.

'Today we pledge that the era of deadlock and drift is over," the 46-year-old president told the 250,000 spectators who filled the Capitol grounds to hear his inauguration speech. "A new season of American renewal has begun..

That season of renewal was reflected in the official inaugural parade which featured a cornucopia of Black performers, including the Andrew Cacho African Drummers & Dancers; Steel Pulse, the first reggae band in an inaugural parade; D.C.'s own Hine Junior High School Band, the only junior high school to march in the parade; the Tennessee State University Band which, in 1961 became the first Black college baud to participate in an inaugural parade; and the Newark Boys Chorus. Army Brig. Gen. Robert L. Stephens, director of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, led all joint service personnel in support of the Inaugural.