Workers' Words

From left, Connie Rowe-Sullivan, Lisa McDavid, Sandy Smith and Kim Rowe, Rowe-Sullivan’s niece.

These are reflections from some UAW members who attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration Jan. 20. UAW Local 2209 members Lisa McDavid and Constance Rowe-Sullivan, who work at General Motors’ Vehicle Manufacturing plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., traveled with Sandy Smith, a UAW Local 2145 member at Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan in Grand Rapids. Mike Green, UAW Local 652 president, is from GM’s Lansing (Mich.) Grand River facility.

'A new day has come’
McDavid: "As we took off in the airplane I got nervous. To ease my spirit I looked out the window at the horizon toward sunrise, the sky gleamed red, white and blue – almost a rainbow effect. A new day had come."

'There were no boundaries’
Rowe-Sullivan: "The crowd had no color … no boundaries, no 'us and them,’ man or woman. We were so much of a family. Age and race, none of it mattered."

'See the hope’
Green: "With the millions in attendance, everyone watched out for each other. … You could look into their faces and see the hope for a new beginning and the time to change course for America."

'An electrifying experience’
Smith: "This inauguration was an electrifying experience. Sharing this with other UAW friends and my daughter, Tracy Perry (who also attended), made it a very wonderful and memorable occasion."

'Historical moment’
Green: "What made this trip even more special was that my son, Rollin, came with me. It was great to see him be a part of this historical moment in our country."

'To be part of a dream’
McDavid: "In all I had studied and knew of black history, I was finally able to be part of a dream so many African Americans never lived to see. I was honored by that thought and emotional … as I thought of those who had come before me"