Published Jan 21, 2009
More than 1 million people stood in the National Mall on Tuesday to witness President Barack Obama's inauguration. And across the country and in foreign nations, thousands of others were enthralled as Obama took the oath to become the first black president of the United States, a sight some thought they would never live to see.
It was a long, difficult road to this day, harking back to the Emancipation Proclamation in the 19th century and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.