Charlie Peoples, 69, Hakim Sabrese, 60, and Carl Martin, 80, discuss the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as they gather at Nick's Lounge on Thursday, in Berkeley, California.Jane Tyska/Staff
"It's one of the greatest things that's happened to America," he said. "I've got a great feeling about him and the people who are with him, and I've got a great feeling about the economy. Everything's going to change right away, the day he says I do."
Now that's supreme optimism considering the deplorable state of our economy. But Peoples is unfazed as he believes in Obama's persuasive powers to the nth degree.
"The United States is No. 1, and he's going to bring us back," he said. "It's going to be a piece of cake. So on Tuesday at Nick's, we're going to hug, kiss and laugh. It will be very emotional. I'm not afraid to cry, because crying's a good thing for you."
Carl Martin, 80, of Oakland, isn't predicting that Obama will turn the economy around instantly, but right after Obama won the Iowa primary last January, Martin predicted in this newspaper that he would be our next president.
"I saw uniting and change," he recalled. "America definitely needs a change after what has happened the previous eight years. And I was elated that so many youngsters got involved in the election who hadn't ever voted before."
Martin grew confident about Obama after hearing his memorable keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, which cast him in the national spotlight.
"I saw a young, black John F. Kennedy," Martin said. "I'm 80, and Barack's the coolest president I've seen taking office. He never gets excited, even with (the) Rev. Wright. And he never goes down to the gutter, where (Republicans) tried to take him during the campaign.
"He's gotten people to look at themselves and not the pigmentation of people's skins. But with the damage that has been done by the (Bush) administration, it will take Barack two terms to correct it. It won't be done overnight."
Margaret Secrease, 64, of Berkeley, is a bartender at Nick's. She's off on Tuesdays, but she'll be at Nick's this Tuesday — on the other side of the bar with the rest of the regulars.
"I never thought I'd live to see this," she said. "It's going to be emotional. "... It's emotional now, thinking of the change that's going to happen, that's already happened. I hope it represents that we won't have all the problems we've had in the past."
Givens wishes "Jesse Helms, George Wallace and all those destructive people who tried to prevent advancement for any race but the whites" could be alive to witness history.
"I wish (Obama) all the success in the world," Givens said, "and I hope people will be able to throw aside their differences enough to help him. He has something I've never see before that I cannot explain. He can't walk on water, but he's different from every politician I've seen."
Sabree will watch the inauguration at home with some of his 10 grandchildren.
"We're overdue," he said of African-Americans. "And (Obama) is truly an African-American. His father was African, and his mother was a Caucasian from the whitest part of America (Kansas) you can find. He has brought us truly together. I look at it as a godsend."
Peoples has 10 grandchildren of his own.
"This is my greatest thrill — the future of the kids," he said, "letting them know that they can do whatever it is they want to do. That's an inspiration to me."
Martin will watch the inauguration at the Las Vegas home of an old military buddy.
"Like Charlie, I will shed a tear," he said. "I'm predicting that Barack will become one of our greatest presidents. I'm that confident about the young man."
dnewhouse@bayarenewsgroup.com
© 2009 Bay Area News Group
January 20, 2009
USA: Good Neighbors - This inauguration is meant for the old
.
WALNUT CREEK, California / Tri Valley Herald / January 20, 2009
By Dave Newhouse
Oakland Tribune columnist
Pollsters credit a record turnout of young voters for the election of our first African-American president. It's old voters, however, who will feel Tuesday's inauguration the most.
Old, black voters.
From slave plantations to Pennsylvania Avenue, it's been a centuries-long uphill journey for black Americans, whose difficult climb isn't over. But Barack Obama has made the journey so much more worthwhile.
Elderly African-Americans couldn't have imagined one of their own sitting in the Oval Office. Not until Obama came along. So how will it be for them emotionally Tuesday?
"My grandfather was a slave, so you know what this means to me," said Cleve Givens, 79, of Berkeley. "When I lived in Louisiana, we couldn't walk in the front of a store. So to see a black man walking in the White House will be significant to me."
Givens and five other older African-Americans were interviewed Thursday at Nick's Lounge in Berkeley, a spot popular among African-Americans, about how they will celebrate the inauguration.
It might be at Nick's, where an all-day party is planned.
"We've come from being three-fifths of a human being in the original constitution to president of the United States," said Hakim Sabree, 60, of Oakland. "They had to amend the constitution to make an African-American a full human being."
Thelma Malvo, 65, of Oakland, wishes her mother, who died in 2000, were alive and that the two of them could be in Washington, D.C., to see Obama take the presidential oath.
"It was an emotional time when it happened," Malvo said of Obama's victory in the November election. "I was laughing and crying, sitting by myself in the kitchen. I was just so proud."
Charlie Peoples, 69, of Oakland, is so proud that he can't contain himself.
Charlie Peoples, 69, Hakim Sabrese, 60, and Carl Martin, 80, discuss the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as they gather at Nick's Lounge on Thursday, in Berkeley, California.Jane Tyska/Staff
"It's one of the greatest things that's happened to America," he said. "I've got a great feeling about him and the people who are with him, and I've got a great feeling about the economy. Everything's going to change right away, the day he says I do."
Now that's supreme optimism considering the deplorable state of our economy. But Peoples is unfazed as he believes in Obama's persuasive powers to the nth degree.
"The United States is No. 1, and he's going to bring us back," he said. "It's going to be a piece of cake. So on Tuesday at Nick's, we're going to hug, kiss and laugh. It will be very emotional. I'm not afraid to cry, because crying's a good thing for you."
Carl Martin, 80, of Oakland, isn't predicting that Obama will turn the economy around instantly, but right after Obama won the Iowa primary last January, Martin predicted in this newspaper that he would be our next president.
"I saw uniting and change," he recalled. "America definitely needs a change after what has happened the previous eight years. And I was elated that so many youngsters got involved in the election who hadn't ever voted before."
Martin grew confident about Obama after hearing his memorable keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, which cast him in the national spotlight.
"I saw a young, black John F. Kennedy," Martin said. "I'm 80, and Barack's the coolest president I've seen taking office. He never gets excited, even with (the) Rev. Wright. And he never goes down to the gutter, where (Republicans) tried to take him during the campaign.
"He's gotten people to look at themselves and not the pigmentation of people's skins. But with the damage that has been done by the (Bush) administration, it will take Barack two terms to correct it. It won't be done overnight."
Margaret Secrease, 64, of Berkeley, is a bartender at Nick's. She's off on Tuesdays, but she'll be at Nick's this Tuesday — on the other side of the bar with the rest of the regulars.
"I never thought I'd live to see this," she said. "It's going to be emotional. "... It's emotional now, thinking of the change that's going to happen, that's already happened. I hope it represents that we won't have all the problems we've had in the past."
Givens wishes "Jesse Helms, George Wallace and all those destructive people who tried to prevent advancement for any race but the whites" could be alive to witness history.
"I wish (Obama) all the success in the world," Givens said, "and I hope people will be able to throw aside their differences enough to help him. He has something I've never see before that I cannot explain. He can't walk on water, but he's different from every politician I've seen."
Sabree will watch the inauguration at home with some of his 10 grandchildren.
"We're overdue," he said of African-Americans. "And (Obama) is truly an African-American. His father was African, and his mother was a Caucasian from the whitest part of America (Kansas) you can find. He has brought us truly together. I look at it as a godsend."
Peoples has 10 grandchildren of his own.
"This is my greatest thrill — the future of the kids," he said, "letting them know that they can do whatever it is they want to do. That's an inspiration to me."
Martin will watch the inauguration at the Las Vegas home of an old military buddy.
"Like Charlie, I will shed a tear," he said. "I'm predicting that Barack will become one of our greatest presidents. I'm that confident about the young man."
dnewhouse@bayarenewsgroup.com
© 2009 Bay Area News Group
Charlie Peoples, 69, Hakim Sabrese, 60, and Carl Martin, 80, discuss the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as they gather at Nick's Lounge on Thursday, in Berkeley, California.Jane Tyska/Staff
"It's one of the greatest things that's happened to America," he said. "I've got a great feeling about him and the people who are with him, and I've got a great feeling about the economy. Everything's going to change right away, the day he says I do."
Now that's supreme optimism considering the deplorable state of our economy. But Peoples is unfazed as he believes in Obama's persuasive powers to the nth degree.
"The United States is No. 1, and he's going to bring us back," he said. "It's going to be a piece of cake. So on Tuesday at Nick's, we're going to hug, kiss and laugh. It will be very emotional. I'm not afraid to cry, because crying's a good thing for you."
Carl Martin, 80, of Oakland, isn't predicting that Obama will turn the economy around instantly, but right after Obama won the Iowa primary last January, Martin predicted in this newspaper that he would be our next president.
"I saw uniting and change," he recalled. "America definitely needs a change after what has happened the previous eight years. And I was elated that so many youngsters got involved in the election who hadn't ever voted before."
Martin grew confident about Obama after hearing his memorable keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, which cast him in the national spotlight.
"I saw a young, black John F. Kennedy," Martin said. "I'm 80, and Barack's the coolest president I've seen taking office. He never gets excited, even with (the) Rev. Wright. And he never goes down to the gutter, where (Republicans) tried to take him during the campaign.
"He's gotten people to look at themselves and not the pigmentation of people's skins. But with the damage that has been done by the (Bush) administration, it will take Barack two terms to correct it. It won't be done overnight."
Margaret Secrease, 64, of Berkeley, is a bartender at Nick's. She's off on Tuesdays, but she'll be at Nick's this Tuesday — on the other side of the bar with the rest of the regulars.
"I never thought I'd live to see this," she said. "It's going to be emotional. "... It's emotional now, thinking of the change that's going to happen, that's already happened. I hope it represents that we won't have all the problems we've had in the past."
Givens wishes "Jesse Helms, George Wallace and all those destructive people who tried to prevent advancement for any race but the whites" could be alive to witness history.
"I wish (Obama) all the success in the world," Givens said, "and I hope people will be able to throw aside their differences enough to help him. He has something I've never see before that I cannot explain. He can't walk on water, but he's different from every politician I've seen."
Sabree will watch the inauguration at home with some of his 10 grandchildren.
"We're overdue," he said of African-Americans. "And (Obama) is truly an African-American. His father was African, and his mother was a Caucasian from the whitest part of America (Kansas) you can find. He has brought us truly together. I look at it as a godsend."
Peoples has 10 grandchildren of his own.
"This is my greatest thrill — the future of the kids," he said, "letting them know that they can do whatever it is they want to do. That's an inspiration to me."
Martin will watch the inauguration at the Las Vegas home of an old military buddy.
"Like Charlie, I will shed a tear," he said. "I'm predicting that Barack will become one of our greatest presidents. I'm that confident about the young man."
dnewhouse@bayarenewsgroup.com
© 2009 Bay Area News Group
