Dr. Joseph Lowery former president of Southern Christian Leadership conference delivered the benediction as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

From Martin to Obama

In the United States, Civil Rights are the rights that a nation's inhabitants enjoy by law. The term is broader than "political rights," which refer only to rights devolving from the franchise and are held usually only by a citizen, and unlike "natural rights," civil rights have a legal as well as a philosophical basis. In the United States civil rights are usually thought of in terms of the specific rights guaranteed in the Constitution: freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, and the rights to due process of law and to equal protection under the law.

The civil-rights movement, led especially by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the late 1950s and 60s, and the executive leadership provided by President Lyndon B. Johnson, encouraged the passage of the most comprehensive civil-rights legislation to date, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibited discrimination for reason of color, race, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation covered by interstate commerce, i.e., restaurants, hotels, motels, and theaters.

James Weldon Johnson composed the lyrics of Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing for which his brother J. Rosamond Johnson composed the music. This is commonly known as the "Negro (or Black) National Anthem."  R&B singer Kim Weston sings "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" in front of a 100,000 at Wattstax--a festival at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 20, 1972 organized by the Memphis Stax label to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Watts riots and black power, pride, culture, tradition and heritage struggle. The party and peacefulness was seen by some as "African Americans answer to Woodstock".

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, JR. (born August 4, 1961) is the first African American President, elected 2008. He was the only African American serving in the U.S. Senate. He delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still serving in the Illinois State Senate. In November 2004, Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate by a landslide in a presidential election year marked by Republican gains.


Presidential Inauguration Prayer
REV. RICK WARREN Richard Duane "Rick" Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American evangelical Christian minister and author. He is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, currently the eighth-largest church in the United States (this ranking includes multi-site churches). He is also a bestselling author of many Christian books, including his guide to church ministry and evangelism, The Purpose Driven Church, which has spawned a series of conferences on Christian ministry and evangelism. He is perhaps best known for the subsequent devotional, The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 30 million copies, making Warren a New York Times bestselling author.

LONNIE G. JOHNSON (born October 6, 1949) is best known as the inventor of the Super Soaker water gun. The Super Soaker was the top selling toy in the United States in 1991 and 1992.

MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actor, choreographer, businessman, philanthropist and record producer. Referred to as the King of Pop, he is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time while also being regarded as one of the most influential. His unrivaled contributions to music, dance and fashion and a much-publicized personal life made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.