Inauguration Day

Beverly Ezeokoli battled the wind among a crowd of thousands of people. The 50-year-old had traveled all the way from Trinidad and Tobago to witness the historical presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.

As an African-American public servant, she has found Obama to be very inspiring. “Obama is engaging and willing to listen to the people,” Ezeokoli said. “He has reminded me of JFK’s famous quote, ‘ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.’”

Since the very beginning of Obama’s campaign, Ms. Ezeokoli has strived to help as much as possible. “I believed since 2004,” Ezeokoli said. “This man will move mountains."

As a young girl, she grew up in Connecticut and eventually attended the University of Connecticut. After graduating, she pursued social service and politics in Silver Spring, MD. “Social Service is very important to me,” Ezeokoli said. “I believe we should treat everyone with the same amount of respect.”

Her service and dedication to the public transcended where she worked. Her service reached the political arena when she campaigned for Bill Clinton during the former presidents first run for the white house. Though she devoted much time to Clinton’s campaign, it has recently paled in comparison to Obama’s. “The election of Bill Clinton was very important to me, but definitely not as important as this one,” Ezeokoli said.

And the chilly DC weather did not stop Beverly to see Obama. “You know, Trinidad is very tropical,” she said. “I saw snow the other day and thought it was awesome. Something’s actually falling from the sky.”

On her return to the United States from Trinidad, she found the event odd. A lot of things had changed over the years. Television had made it possible to attend the inauguration from the comfort of your home ever since Eisenhower. Women and the African-American population gained their rights. And, now, an African-American President was in charge of the nation.

“Trinidad is just an island,” Ezeokoli said. “It is also run by black leaders. All I ever knew were white leaders in America.”