For the past several weeks, I’ve been M.I.A., largely because I’ve been transitioning from California to the D.C. area—enjoying the energy of real time in this moment of change. Yes, this weekend, D.C. is the place to be! As I prepare to celebrate the Martin Luther King legacy, I am so excited! Years ago, the mantra of Black radical theory was clear: seize the time. Back in the day, it was about taking control of the moment and using it as an opportunity to frame the agenda and exercise your desired course of action. Today, the same holds true. For the past eight years, this nation has been severely off course. As a result, we are living with record-high unemployment, loss of wealth, increase of debt, and poverty. So, of course, we are all excited to shed this eight-year old cloak of disappointment and embrace a new framework in which to improve the cultural quilt that covers us.

Yesterday, I handed over my ticket to the Inauguration Ceremony to my mother. It was a last minute gift that I was happy to pass on to her, because this inauguration is about much more than just celebrating the first African American president. For her, this is about witnessing a moment that shatters the expectations of people like her high school teacher, who told her that she shouldn’t bother to pursue a college education. Of course, she ignored that advice…and now, she—along with the rest of the world—can celebrate another person who dared to have an “audacity of hope.”

Copyright 2009 Monique W. Morris