King Day Convocation and Obama Presidential Inauguration

Knox students watch as honorary alumnus Barack Obama is sworn in as President.

Just one day separated Knox College's formal convocation celebrating Martin Luther King Day on January 19, and informal campus events on January 20, marking the inauguration of honorary alumnus Barack Obama as President of the United States.

The inauguration of Obama, who gave the Commencement Address and received an honorary degree from Knox in 2005, "represents a fundamental improvement in American race relations," said Konrad Hamilton, associate professor of history and chair of the American Studies Program, in his King Day Convocation Address on January 19.

At the same time, the "declining significance of race in American politics makes King more relevant, not less," Hamilton said. "The Civil Rights movement was about the revitalization of American democracy. Dr. King taught us that if our allegiance to democracy means anything, then it sometimes calls upoon us to make sacrifices."

Knox College President Roger Taylor said that it was "appropriate to cebrate Dr. King's life today, here at Knox." Taylor cited the words of Knox's founder, the Reverend George Washington Gale, who said in 1838 that anti-slavery Americans should "reassert the principles of liberty until every tyrant trembles..." as well as Lincoln's moral stand against slavery in the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Knox in 1858, and finally Barack Obama's 2005 Commencement Address: "Let's imagine what we could do to give every American a fighting chance."

The convocation also featured remarks by Lawrence B. Breitborde, dean of the College and vice president for academic affairs; a poetry reading by Fred Hord, professor and chair of Black Studies; and songs performed by the Knox College Choir and jazz vocalist Semenya McCord.

While more than 400 attended the convocation on January 19, smaller groups across campus gathered on January 20 to watch telecasts as Obama took the Presidential oath of office.

"This an awesome, awesome thing," said Beth McRill, a first-year student from Streamwood, Illinois -- one of some 75 to 100 students who watched the inauguration on a big screen television in the Post Hall lobby. McRill said she got her T-shirt -- "I Don't Study History, I Live It. January 20, 2009" -- from a website operated by someone she met via Facebook because they're both interested in politics.

Another student, Joey Firman was on his cell phone with his parents and younger brother, who were at the inauguration. "They just held up the phone, and I could hear that it was about five seconds ahead of the CNN broadcast."

A junior from Arlington, Virginia, Firman said, "It's neat to see all the people on the Mall. I've been there, I've played frisbee on the Mall, and I've never seen that many people there."

Obama is the third President of the United States to hold an honorary degree from Knox. Abraham Lincoln was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1860, Obama in 2005 and Bill Clinton in 2007.

Konrad Hamilton, above; Roger Taylor, below.

Students watch the Presidential inauguration: Above, Peter Thomas and Beth McRill; Below and top of page, Joey Firman, in striped shirt.