Locals gather, observe day’s celebrations

LITTLE ROCK — About 100 people turned out at the state Capitol on Monday to watch President Barack Obama being sworn in on a large television screen, but technical difficulties meant they heard - but didn’t see - him taking the oath of office.

Fortunately, the problems evaporated after a dozen-or so minutes - in time for the crowd to enjoy Obama’s acceptance speech and to see Beyonce sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The glitches didn’t matter to many of the people who turned out for the event celebrating Obama’s inauguration, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Robert E. Lee’s Birthday.

Wilma Donley of Little Rock said she’s “just as happy knowing that it happened.

“I am elated,” the 58-yearold woman said about Obama being sworn in for a second term as the nation’s first black president.

“Nothing can break that excitement. It is a great day. You can feel it in the air,” she said.

The event at the Capitol came after the annual King “marade,” a combination march and parade which drew hundreds of participants, despite temperatures in the mid-30s Monday morning.

The College of Aspiring Artists led the celebration on the Capitol steps, while the NAACP’s Arkansas branch organized the march.

The alignment of King’s holiday and Obama’s inauguration “is no ordinary day,” said Arthur Hunt, the aspiring artists’ leader and an ordained minister. “God would be the only sovereign, supreme organizer that put this day together.”

Jerry Boston of Little Rock, an unemployed 60-year-old man who is studying computer science and industrial technology at Pulaski Technical College, said he didn’t feel slighted not to see Obama being sworn in Monday morning because “I’ll watch it when I get home.”

He said he’s expecting “great things” from Obama in his second term.

Boston said he hopes Obama can help improve the economy and racial equality, and reduce the number of abortions.

“We are killing our babies,” Boston lamented.

Earlier, hundreds of people participated in the annual marade through downtown Little Rock and many more lined the streets to watch it snake through town.

Balloon and cotton-candy vendors walked the streets, selling their goods to parade goers.

The parade participants ranged from a tae kwon do business to bands and drill teams to churches. State Rep. Darrin Williams, D-Little Rock, was the parade’s grand marshal.