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A Year in Review-
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Established In 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIV. N um ber 52
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community’ service
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • December 30. 2009
First Black President
Marks Eventful Year
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
ust shy o f a year ago, a young
senator from Illinois stood on a
stage in the U.S. capital, and took
one o f the country’s most sacred
oaths while much o f the world
watched in jubilation.
When Barack Obama became the
nation’s first black President, he
broke a racial barrier that few thought
possibly.
The U.S. has always been a
diverse and complex country —
built through the sweat, blood and
struggles o f an array o f people.
But to African A m ericans and
other supporters o f equality and
civil rights, O bam a’s election vin­
dicated the efforts o f those that
worked so hard to make that day
possible.
President Obama took the reigns
o f a country riddled with daunting
problems. And a year into his ad­
ministration, he still faces a number
o f challenges.
He has spent sizable chunks o f
his political capital on enacting a
massive stimulus package to stave
o ff economic collapse. He is push-
J
continued
on page 6
‘I think that
there is a shift
in perspective.'
— Melissa Kerry
‘He is
making
change.
— Huey Martin
‘Nothing has
changed. Not
enough is being
done fo r people
in the U.S. '
— Dennis Hudson
But it s
a long
process.'
— Rita Pierce