The Obama Presidency

ON THE COVER

Faces In The Crowd

Local Jews witness history at Barack Obama's inauguration.

Robin Schwartz

Special to the Jewish News

W

hen our new president
looked out at the vast crowd
during his Jan. 20 swearing-
in ceremony, it must have been a blur. A
sea of roughly two million people of all
shapes, sizes, colors, races, creeds and
religions poured across the National
Mall in Washington, D.C., amid heavy
security.
They watched and cheered as Barack
Obama took the oath of office to become
our 44th president and the first African
American President of the United States.
Among those standing in the cold, wav-
ing American flags and even shedding
a few tears were four members of the
Schram family of West Bloomfield. Zack
Schram, 30, an attorney with the Senate

Subcommittee on Investigations, hustled
for tickets in the weeks leading up to the
big event, scoring four seats together in
the "purple section" so his parents, Judi
and Brad, and sister, Alison, could join
him.
"The overall experience was exhilarat-
ing and absolutely unforgettable," said
Judi Schram. "We were transfixed on the
pageantry we were viewing in the dis-
tance and on the larger-than-life video
screen looming above us. We were all
moved beyond description."
Her husband was struck by the
diverse mix of people surrounding him
and the electric energy that rippled
through the crowd.
"It was like Woodstock without the
mud," said Brad Schram. "I could really
sense an air of empowerment that's
contagious for many people who felt

isolated and out of the mainstream for
so many generations. As a Jew, who has
always been reminded that I was in a
minority and never 'part of the club, I
really related to the overwhelming sense
of pride."
For Zack, who worked on the Obama
campaign out of the candidate's national
headquarters in Chicago, it was an
opportunity to savor victory and the
fruits of his labor.
"When our new president said,
We reject as false the choice between
our safety and our ideals, a cathartic,
emotional cheer met his words;' Zack
recalled. "When he said to tyrants, cknow
that your people will judge you by what
you build, not what you destroy; I looked
at the gleaming Capitol, decked in red,
white and blue bunting, and marveled at
the democracy we have built:'

Spirit Of Cooperation
Elsewhere in the crowd, Lisa and
Hannan Lis of Farmington Hills, who
helped arrange a Detroit fundraiser
for Obama when he was running for
president, were busy snapping photos
in every direction. Their online album
is filled with images of everything they
could see from their vantage point:
police officers on alert, bundled up
onlookers, marching bands performing,
news reporters working, the presiden-
tial limo streaking by with the Obama
family smiling and waving inside, and
the long motorcade down Pennsylvania
Avenue.
"Everyone felt a tremendous feeling
of closeness and unity," said Hannan
Lis. "It was a remarkable feeling to be

Faces on page Al2

January 29 2009

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