Scattered on Pebble Beach at Brooklyn Bridge Park, just under the Manhattan Bridge, were 400 worn refugee life jackets. One hundred of them were worn by refugee children. Some of them were ripped up and covered in dirt. Some of the refuges who wore them did not survive. The life jackets were collected from the beaches of Chois, Greece, where refugees from war torn countries struggle to make it to their shores. These tattered life vests were what they wore.

Most of these refugees came from Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan. The conflicts, civil war and terrorism threat in the Middle East drove them to flee their homes.

But today, these life jackets stood as a symbol on the eve of United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants and Leaders’ Summit hosted by President Obama at the United Nations Headquarters.
The jackets were a symbol of hope, remembrance and action.

Oxfam America, a global organization focusing on addressing poverty, hunger and injustice issues, came up with an idea of displaying the life jackets to catch the attention of global leaders and as a call for action against global refugee issues.

Marissa Ryan, 32, advocacy and campaigns manager of Oxfam Ireland, saw theme as a testimony to the thousands of refugees who died while seeking refuge.

“If you look closely, the tiny life jackets belonged to babies who drowned, which is continuing year and year in the absence of any coherent or sane response to global migration from world leaders,” she said.

According to a report by the UN Refugee Agency, 65.3 million people were displaced at the end of 2015, which was the highest number since World War II.

After today’s event, the collection will be sent to the United Kingdom, to bring attention to this worldwide crisis.

Lauren Hartnett, 32, the humanitarian press officer of Oxfam America, unpacked these jackets on Pebble Beach with her colleagues in the early morning. She said there were 300 jackets for adults and 100 for children. Although some of them were not very sturdy the refugees had used them to cross the sea.
“Some of them were tied together. You can tell (they were) from families that didn’t want to get separated,” she said.

Bogdan Krasic, 28, a Serbian researcher of Belgrade Center for Human Rights, helps refugees who seek asylum in Serbia and other countries. Serbia, serves as an intermediate transition on the road from Middle East to Germany or Austria.

Krasic said the majority of refugees were less educated, non-English speaking and even disabled.
While the number of displaced people has hit new records, Ryan pointed out that, the six richest world economies only accommodated nine percent of the global refugee population.

Krasic thought the most developed countries were very careful about accepting refugees. They resettled some refugees because of longstanding policies, but not because they truly cared.
As the largest economy in the world, the U.S. has always been expected to play the most significant role in solving this problem.

But the U.S. government has resettled 79,560 refugees, not enough according to Krasic and Hartnett.

“I mean we’re always wanting more,” said Hartnett. “Especially Obama is hosting the summit on Tuesday. So we’re hoping for a huge announcement.”

But the presidential election has greatly impacted refugees who have already lived in America and those who are eager to settle down in this country. While Hillary Clinton fully supports Obama administration’s plan to accept more, Republican nominee, Donald Trump wants to temporarily ban Muslim immigration.

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It seems fitting that a teenage political activist in Ecuador would one day work with a social justice organization in the largest Hispanic city in the US. Gladys Puglla has been a representative for Make The Road New York, a non-profit whose goal is to empower Latino and working class communities in New York City, for the past seven years.

On the eve of President Obama’s executive action speech on immigration reform, Puglla and members of Make the Road New York are galvanized by the fact that many of the issues they fight for as Latino immigrants are slowly becoming part of a national dialogue. Chief among the group’s concerns is the difficulty they experience holding down safe and economical housing in a city in the throes of an affordable housing crisis. With language barriers, and bereft of an understanding of their rights as renters, thousands of Latino immigrants experience harassment and unsafe living conditions in the city.

Puglla downplays her stint as a political organizer for an Ecuadorian presidential candidate in the 80s. “I was helping in the marching and passing the word about him a little bit, but my school and my grandmother didn’t let me go out so much,” she said with a laugh. But her work on the housing committee at Make The Road New York cannot be underestimated. Last year alone, Make The Road New York helped prevent the eviction of more than 60 families and worked to repair unsafe living conditions for thousands in New York City.

Funded through private donations and a $120 membership fee (which members have three years to pay off), Make The Road New York provides members with legal representation in Housing Court and informs members of their rights as renters. They meet every Thursday. Zoraida Conde, of Bedstuy, Brooklyn, attends because she wants to learn her rights. “They put me in jail if I don’t comply with the law. But if the landlord does the same thing — they break the law — they get away. And it’s not fair,” said Conde, who claims her landlord steals and reroutes gas in her building, resulting in exorbitantly high bills which are beginning to jeopardize her credit.

Tenant harassment and the threat of eviction can be most devastating to the elderly.

Maria Khochaiche, who has called 1351 Hancock St. in Bushwick, Brooklyn, home for the last 40 years, now faces eviction after her refusal to pay rent after it was raised by an additional $2,100. In her 70s, Khochaiche says her health has declined on account of the situation.

“I don’t know what I going to do. I couldn’t sleep and I’m getting sick. I had a heart attack. I have a lot of problems,” she said.

Lawyers working for Make The Road New York are currently representing her in Housing Court. With the transformation of Latino communities like this one in Bushwick, Puglla said the group will continue to fight for its members.

“We are trying to get more housing lawyers so that no one who comes in here goes empty handed,” she said.

The post Bushwick’s Dispossessed Latino Community appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

By Nicki Fleischner

The speaker looked up at a PowerPoint slide that showed a funnel with two labels: “Latino population” at the wide top and “Latino voters” at the narrow bottom.

“The funnel is just how I think of it,” Angelo Falcón, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy, a nonpartisan group, told the audience. “Up top we have this enormous Latino population in the U.S., but then that trickles down to the number that are eligible to vote, fewer that are registered, and even fewer who actually cast a ballot.”

As Election Day, nears, questions of how to increase Latino voter turnout and address obstacles facing Latino voters have been pushed to the forefront. Falcón was one of four speakers at “The Latino Vote In 2014” panel on Oct. 15 hosted by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan institute affiliated with New York University School of Law.

In the recent past, Latinos have strongly supported Democratic candidates — with President Barack Obama winning 71 percent of the Latino vote in 2012. But, with the failure of the Democratic Party to pass comprehensive immigration reform, the Latino vote may no longer be taken for granted.

On Nov. 4, the U.S. will hold midterm elections for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate, as well as other regional positions on a state-by-state basis. Democrats could lose their majority in the Senate, further polarizing the legislative and executive branches and impeding action in Washington.

As their population grows, Latinos have become an increasingly important voting bloc. According to the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan group, Latinos make up 11.3 percent of eligible voters. Between now and 2030, Latinos are expected to account for 40 percent of the growth in the U.S. electorate.

Latinos have historically failed to turn out to vote, however. During the last midterm elections, in 2010, only 31.2 percent of eligible Latino voters cast their ballots, as compared with 44 percent of black voters and 48.6 of white voters.

The reasons behind this funnel effect are numerous, and Latino organizations are striving to combat this trend. Some organizations have used National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, as a platform for mobilizing the Latino community. Groups that work to educate and empower Latino citizens, such as Voto Latino and Make the Road New York, have held voter registration drives and used social media to encourage Latinos to make their voices heard.

“For our heritage, let’s defend our rights/reshape our Government #PowerofOurVote,” Rosario Dawson, Latina actress and Voto Latino chairwoman, tweeted on Oct. 10. Latinos are the nation’s youngest ethnic group, with the median age at 18. The #PowerofOurVote hashtag has become a part of the mobilization effort as organizations use Twitter to connect with young voters.

Daniel Altschuler, a coordinator for Make the Road New York, has registered over 5,000 Latinos since August.

“Our message to the people in the community resonates,” Altschuler said. “It is that people need to go out in November to vote for their families. The Latino community needs to expand its political muscle.”

Latinos have failed to register and vote for legal and logistical reasons.

“As a general demographic, Latinos and other low-income groups tend to move a lot and are unaware of the change-of-address forms necessary for renewing their voter status,” Altschuler said.

Myrna Peréz, a director at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that there is “a partisan and racial component” to new, stricter voter identification laws in states such as Texas.

Jorge Mursuli, a panelist representing Dominicanos USA, which works to educate and mobilize Dominican American voters, said that the issue goes far beyond “red” versus “blue” state, however.

“You would think that in a state like New York where Latinos have a relatively sure political footing things would be better,” Mursuli said. “But there have been many challenges.”

Mursuli described his experience during 2010 midterm elections when poor signage, lack of Latino poll workers and utter incompetence at poll sites deterred many registered voters. Of the dozen or so voting sites Mursuli visited in the Bronx, a borough of New York that is over 50 percent Latino, he saw not a single Latino poll worker.

“I saw voter suppression first hand,” Mursuli said. “And voter suppression does not happen to eighth generation white people. It just doesn’t.”

Beyond registration and Election Day issues, the national spotlight on immigration concerns may further impact Latino turnout on Nov. 4.

In a 2013 poll conducted by Latino Decisions, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to Latino political opinion research, 75 percent of Latinos surveyed said it was extremely or very important for Congress and the president to address immigration reform within the year, even in light of other issues facing the government.

One year later, comprehensive immigration reform remains an unresolved issue. After Obama did not fulfill his promise to provide deportation relief to undocumented immigrants by the end of the summer, many Latinos became disillusioned.

“There is obviously grave disappointment with Congress and the Obama administration for not taking proactive steps to stop the separation of families,” Altschuler said.

According to Gallup Polls, Obama’s approval ratings have varied the most with Latinos over any other group since he won re-election in 2012. In December 2012, Obama had 75 percent approval rating among Latinos; his rating is now at 48.

Falcón said that there is no way to determine how Latino voters will respond to the immigration issue on Election Day, but it has become a large part of the conversation, with individuals and organizations promoting conflicting messages.

“Some say that now more than ever Latinos need to prove their political clout by voting,” Falcón said. “Others are as extreme as to say we should hold sit-ins this election, refuse to vote and prove to Democrats how much they need us.”

The post As Election Day nears, Latino vote remains underrepresented and elusive appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

by Megan Jamerson

A group of undocumented teens undeterred by the rain, stood on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk performing a mock trial of President Obama yesterday afternoon.

The issue in question was immigration reform. The concern, that President Obama is delaying a statement on administrative relief until after the midterm election for political gain.

“It’s unfair that Obama has continuously postponed this statement and it’s for his party politics,” said Jensine Raihan of Astoria, Queens. “He is prioritizing the Democratic Party over peoples lives and that’s unfair.”

Raihan, 16, is a youth leader for Desis Rising Up and Moving(DRUM), the group responsible for conceiving the idea for the demonstration. DRUM is a grassroots organization representing the interests of low-income South Asian and Muslim immigrants in New York City.

Their demonstration is part of a week of coordinated action across the country to call for the president to produce a statement. An executive order for administrative relief would postpone deportation for undocumented workers and grant them work permits.

Jensine Raihan, 16 of Astoria Queens, is a youth leader for DRUM who helped organize the demonstration. (Photo Credit: Megan Jamerson)

A group of over 50 people, made up of mostly young adults, attended the 30-minute demonstration in front of New York Sen. Chuck Schumer’s  3rd Avenue office. They believe Schumer, like Obama, has failed to act with expediency on immigration. They wish to be heard by Washington.

“As immigrants we know what’s best for us, we know what our experiences are, we want to share those experiences and we should be the judge of what’s in our favor, in our benefit” said Fahd Ahmed, 34, of Jackson Heights, Queens.

Ahmed is acting executive director for DRUM, and was overseeing the youth leadership demonstration. He said he was pleased with the turnout.

“We are very happy and very excited,” said Ahmed. “I think the visuals of it are very beautiful.”

While the group remained peaceful, respecting the boundaries of the demonstration line set up by the NYPD, they were not quiet. They chanted, and held vibrantly colored signs with various demands. “Deferred action for all” “Administrative relief now” and “People over politics.”

A courtroom scene was set with handmade cardboard podiums and a gavel. Two DRUM members held masks over their faces with the likeness of Obama and Schumer. They stood by as some came forward to testify and tell their stories.

“It’s a struggle every day to survive,” said Subashish Barua, 25 an undocumented native of India. “Working long hours, paying taxes, and not being paid properly, and still getting abused by employers just because I’m undocumented”.

Barua said he endures low wages and poor working conditions out of a dedication to support his family back home. Being the only son of his family, they depend on his income.

If an executive order for administrative relief was granted Barua could qualify for a work permit, which would allow him to be employed under legal conditions, he said. The DRUM youth leaders feel stories like Barua’s are far too common and action needed to be taken.

“Activism is a way of both defending myself and my family and friends,” said Raihan. “I’ve been affected by policies that promote income inequality.”

Once the week of organized action is over, the youth leadership team at DRUM will work on a plan to reevaluate and decide what steps need to be taken next. Regardless, the plan is to continue to challenge the political leadership.

“The idea is to keep up the pressure, we are not going to wait until after the election,” said Ahmed “We are going to keep up the pressure.”

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Ariel Guerrera, 28, of East Harlem is a volunteer for Organizing for Action. He has asthma and no health insurance. Photo by Lea Bouchoucha

As the U.S. government shutdown entered its second week, a handful of President Barack Obama’s campaign volunteers came out on Thursday to handout information on the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare at Union Square in Manhattan.

The event was part of a national day of action promoting Obamacare organized by Organizing For Action (O.F.A.), a nonprofit successor of Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. The advocacy group was designed to mobilize supporters and promote President Barack Obama’s second term agenda including healthcare, climate change, gun control and immigration reform.

Ariel Guerrera, 28, carried a large blue banner and distributed flyers with contact information to register for federal health insurance. For the past year, the East Harlem resident has volunteered with Organizing For Action.

“It is important for us to let people know where they can get registered [for healthcare],” said Guerrera, “Too many people in this country do not have health insurance and if something happened, it can ruin a life.”

Guerrera has asthma. Since he left his job in February, he doesn’t have health insurance.

“My prescriptions for asthma are very expensive and I can’t afford it right now,” he said. He planned to sign up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act in a few weeks, “I feel lucky for not being sick,” he said.

New York is one of the biggest markets for the new insurance plan. Last Tuesday, the New York State of Health (NYSOH) announced that over 40,000 New Yorkers have signed up for the Affordable Care Act, more than any other state.

“We are one of the few countries in the world that does not have universal health care,” said Guerrera, ”Obamacare changed that.”

Yael Jacoleson-Zieff, 57, an O.F.A. volunteer, lost her job and her health insurance. Photo by Lea Bouchoucha

Yael Jacoleson-Zieff, 57, a volunteer with O.F.A., lost her job and her health insurance during the recession in 2008. Since then, like Guerrera, she has not been able to afford health insurance, until now.

“The system was slow but I think that losing two hours in order to get health insurance, it is not a great sacrifice,” said Jacoleson-Zieff, of the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

Jacoleson-Zieff advocated for Obamacare since the first battles on Capitol Hill, four years ago.

“I believe that health insurance should not be only for rich people,” she said. Nobody should go bankrupt, stay sick or die because they are sick.”

Volunteers promote signing up for insurance through Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) in Union Square, Photo by Lea Bouchoucha

Sitting in Union Square next to O.F.A. volunteers, three workers from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York were also helping residents through the process of applying for health insurance.

Called  “navigators”, these workers are hired under federal grants to assist individuals, families, small businesses, and their employees at no cost in the health insurance application and enrollment process.

In July New York state awarded $27 million in grants to 50 diverse organizations like the LGBT Community Center for healthcare outreach.

Janice Cruz, 30, of Bushwick, Brooklyn has worked at the LGBT Community Center’s healthcare outreach for the past month.

“There is a lot of misinformation about healthcare, so it is great to talk to people and make them feel more comfortable,” said Cruz.

According to a report from the liberal think tank Center For American Progress, LGBT people are more likely than the general population to lack health insurance coverage.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.-While President Obama’s Inauguration speech focused on issues of equality and climate change, some of the few protesters at the Washington Monument had a less-expected talking point in mind: carrots.

Members of GMO Free Maryland, who lured Inauguration-goers to their stand at the foot of the Washington Monument with promises of free tea, coffee and natural carrots—along with blaring dance music—organized to “raise awareness about the labeling of GMO foods.”

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are plants or animals created through genetic “splicing” of DNA cross-species. In the United States, there is no law requiring the classification of these products in stores despite studies linking genetically modified corn to tumors and organ damage, among other issues, in rats.

For members of the anti-GMO Inauguration Day demonstration, the chance to spread the word about genetically modified foods to such a large group is what brought them to the Mall in protest.

Adam Eidinger, 39, of the DC area, was one of the main organizers of the demonstration. With a raccoon tail affixed to his pants, Eidinger stood, microphone in hand, calling those clustered around the nearby jumbotron to educate themselves about genetically modified foods and the lack of current government policies surrounding them.

“We want the government to require the companies who are marketing these products to disclose that there are combined genes from multiple organisms in these foods,” Eidinger said. “People who are eating these foods have no idea that they contain pesticides, that they contain herbicides that were integrated into the plants themselves.”

In 2007, at a speech in Des Moines, Iowa before he was elected president, Obama made promises that his administration would require the labeling of GMO foods because “Americans should know what they’re buying.”

Now, GMO Free Maryland, is pushing the President to remember this promise and, according to Eidinger, coming to the Inauguration was a critical step in reminding the President of his role for he future of GMOs.

“He is the administrative head of the FDA” Eidinger said. “All he has to do is tell the administrator ‘I want to label this food, I want rules on labeling GMO food’ and it happen in one year. He has not kept his promise to do this. We are hoping the second term will result in that. If we are here, we create leverage.”

Mike Snow is a D.C. based journalist who says that he was inspired to join the protest because he believes that “the mainstream media is ignoring the issue.”

“I feel very strongly about this issue because the government just completely ignores it,” he said. “In 2007, Barack Obama promised that if he was elected he would label GMOs but you look now and they are not here.”

For Eidinger, the most troubling part of the GMO issue is that the lack of labeling gives Americans have a limited awareness that these items are in the marketplace.

“I think the vast majority of people don’t know about GMO foods,” he said. “The companies can say it is a soybean but it is not quite the same as a soybean in the traditional sense. It is really gotten to the point now where people are getting sick in this country and they are allergic to this food and they have a right to know what they are eating.”

According to Snow, this issue is one that he could not ignore because of the possible health concerns associated with their consumption.

“We need to stop eating this junk,” he said. “The sooner, the better. Our longevity rate is going down. How did that happen?”

The post Corn, carrots and the Inauguration appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

WASHINGTON, D.C-Though hundreds of thousands gathered at the National Mall today for the 57^th Presidential Inauguration, many were left frustrated as technical difficulties with the Jumbotron kept the crowd from seeing or hearing parts of the ceremony.

“We saw everybody walk in, but as soon as it started in earnest it just got bad,” said Matt Assenmacher, 43.

Assenmecher, who is from Silver Spring Md. said he’s been to five inaugurations in the past.

“This one, in terms of technical difficulties was the worst,” he said.

The malfunctions began within a few minutes of the broadcast, as the massive screen flickered in between pixelated images and sputters of audio.

Some in the audience booed as the screen briefly turned off, others couldn’t help but laugh at the sporadic transmission.

While President Obama’s first inauguration drew the largest crowd in history, this year the much smaller crowd continued to thin as the transmission became worse. Some left early into the ceremony—staying for neither Obama’s speech nor Beyonce’s performance. About 700,000 attended this year, far less than the 1.8 million of four years ago.

Emily Williams, 28, from Chicago, Ill. said she was disappointed that the technical mishaps prevented general attendees from having access to the event.

There is absolutely no excuse for that; they know how many thousands of people are going to be here,” she said.  “If we want to talk about being a democracy then let’s cater to the people.”

Zachary Watts, 27, added that with the high cost and exclusivity of tickets, average citizens were being shortchanged.

“It’s sad that it’s not accessible to everyone, even just for people here to hear it,” he said. “They should have tested it beforehand.”

The transmission improved somewhat by President Obama’s speech but many said they would have to re-watch later to actually appreciate it.

“We were just looking on the map to find if there was somewhere else where we can go see it, and hopefully the audio will be better,” said Annie Hull, 22, from Silver Spring, Md. “We’re just going to go home and watch it on YouTube. “

“It was absolutely horrible when it first started, so we will take what we can get,” said Sheena Daffin, 29, of Rockland County, N.Y. “But I will be watching it again back home.”

Daffin said she and friend Shakira White, 29, contemplated leaving early.

“It kind of defeats the purpose of even being here, “ said White who travelled from Harlem, N.Y. for the event. She and Daffin added that they were happy they made the trip nonetheless.

Even with no regrets, some said the failed monitor impacted their ability to feel connected to the experience.

“We always come, we always expect to feel like part of the inauguration but this time it feels like we missed a huge slice of it,” said Assenmacher.

“For me it was this moment of realizing there is symbolism versus actual policy. All these people are here and we can’t even hear the speech,” said Williams. “We’re here to support you…but we can’t even hear you.”

Kelly Clarkson sings with glitches

The post Sound issues hurt Inauguration appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Francisca Fernando, 24, far right, and Katy Burk, 25, second from right, watching the 2013 Presidential Inauguration from a Jumbotron at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. Photo by Timothy Weisberg.

WASHINGTON,D.C–Despite the decreased hype following Obama’s rise to the Presidency in 2009, President Obama’s message remains just as powerful: the nation must remain optimistic.

While history has a tendency to repeat itself, this is not Obama’s first rodeo. Over 800,000 people were in attendance at the 2013 Presidential inauguration, which marked the beginning of President Obama’s second term, a significant decrease from the 1.8 million that attended Obama’s first inauguration in 2009.

In the midst of a deep partisan divide in Congress, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Obama’s message of hope and promise for the country remain in tact.

“It’s a different feeling this time around,” said Katy Burke, 25, of Washington, D.C.

Abui Tamakloe, 35, of Brooklyn, echoed Burke’s sentiments, noting that Obama’s second term placed less of an emphasis on what was then “history in the making:” the first black President of the United States.

“The fact he got re-elected means that people actually believe in him,” she said. “And it’s not just about the color of his skin, but also what the person stands for.”

Messages of patience and compromise to push the nation’s problems behind could not have been conveyed any better to the thousands that gathered in the non-ticketed area of the National Mall next to the Washington Monument.

A Jumbotron airing the inauguration experienced extensive technical difficulties, often with scratchy video and out of sync audio even as Obama was sworn into oath and James Taylor performed “America The Beautiful.”

“Can we watch the inauguration please?” one woman exclaimed impatiently. “This is really going well,” another man said sarcastically as he left National Mall.

Some booed and many left, but others laughed it off, knowing their presence alone was enough to understand why hundreds of thousands were in attendance. Hopefulness and assurance have embodied Obama supporters during four years of a sinking economy, high unemployment, and a rising gap between the rich and poor.

Dr. William Escoffery of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. protests the 2013 Presidential Inauguration. Escoffery, 68, believes people do not realize the problems Obama has created for the country over the past four years. Photo by Timothy Weisberg

“For me it did not matter because it’s a solemn occasion,” Tamakloe said. “I know why I am here.”

However, one of the few protesters at the National Mall during the inauguration, Dr. William Escoffery of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., believed the technical mishap epitomized Obama’s Presidency.

“I think this is a paradigm for what he’s done to the country,” Escoffery, 68, said. “You can’t even hear what he’s saying on the screen and all of his supporters are leaving because they can’t hear what he’s saying.”

Holding a sign that read “Impeach! Hussein Now,” the Jamaica native found it alarming that such a high percentage of African-Americans were in support of Obama, adding that many African-Americans voted for Obama solely based on his ethnicity.

“(Jamaicans) are not hung up on black or white,” he said. “We look at the core embodiment of what a person’s doing for their country.”

And like his previous term, Obama faces many obstacles and battles ahead, where even supporters have mentioned that he has unfinished business.

With the Congressional gridlock over solving the fiscal cliff crisis, which would have prompted over $500 billion in tax increases and across-the-board-spending cuts beginning Jan. 1, only a few weeks old, another battle in Congress over the nation’s borrowing limit is under way. Issues over the debt ceiling and the country’s ability to pay back its obligations remain a core problem for a recovering economy.

“The first four years the economy was in a shambolic situation,” said Francisca Fernando, 24, of Washington, D.C. “You almost (consider) it acceptable, but now is the time for him to really make some changes and for us to see the impact of the policies he set in place.”

The President has also faced his fair share of criticism, including the handling of attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi Sept. 11, 2011, in which U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three others were killed.

And while he has made significant achievements in healthcare reform and a systematic overhaul of Wall Street, opponents point to his lack of an agenda for much needed economic recovery. The United States is also a nation in which the unemployment rate did not drop below eight percent until Sept. 2011, nearly three years since President Obama took office in January 2009.

The shootings at a Connecticut elementary school last month also make gun control a core issue for his second term, along with major changes to the nation’s immigration policies, the implementation of Obamacare, and other means by which to boost a stagnant economy, an agenda that will inevitably ignite a heated battle between Obama and House Republicans.

Yet according to a CNN poll conducted in Nov. 2011 and released Sunday, 54 percent of Americans were optimistic Obama would perform well in his second term.

Obama also mentioned the rights of gay Americans and pledged to solve the increasing problems of climate change.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” Obama said during his inaugural address, to rambunctious cheers from the crowd.

For people like Fernando, the hope is that Obama will be able to overcome the partisan riff that exists in Congress and push through important policies that will alleviate many of the budgetary and spending problems the nation will inherently undertake during Obama’s second term.

“He’s been given a second chance and I think people are really hoping that some changes happen,” she said.

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Four generations of the Lettsome family holds up the flag of the US Virgin Islands at the 2013 Inauguration. Photo by Breana Jones

WASHINGTON,D.C.-Amoya Lettsome will not remember this morning. She won’t remember the cold, the technical difficulties, or seeing President Obama sworn into office for his second term. At barely a year old, she won’t remember anything at all but her mother Stacy Lettsome, 40, of Atlanta, Ga. still wanted her to be present for the 2013 Inauguration.

“I will take the pictures and show her she is apart of history,” said Stacy Lettsome, “I was here four years ago so I’m honored to be back. It’s a great celebration and it happened on a perfect day, MLK day.”

Five other members of their family joined Stacy and Amoya Lettsome at the National Mall.  The Afro-Caribbean family was one of more than an estimated 700,000 present for the Inauguration. The crowd was nowhere near the size of the 1.8 million that gathered in 2009, and the majority of the crowd was black. The strong presence proved the significance of the President’s two term hasn’t been lost on the black community.

Amoya, 1, was the youngest and at 71, her great-great-aunt Lynn Igwemadu made four generations present. Tracy Lettsome, her sister, brought her children back for a second time, hoping they’d gain more understanding four years later.

“They’re in middle school now, so I want to discuss how we got here, why it’s so important,” said Tracy Lettsome, “and that because he’s in the White House, he might be dealing with a lot more challenges than presidents in the past because of who he is and where he is from.”

For Clarence Davis, 56, having so many generations of his family together was a special moment for the Virgin Islander, who said as an Afro-Caribbean seeing a black man sworn into the presidential office twice was a strong moment for him.

Stacy Lettsome said while she is happy her baby will grow up in a time where a black president is a reality instead of a lofty goal, she will be sure to teach her the history it took to get here.

“I want to make sure she lives to her full potential, that’s number one, and this is just another example of that history that she can reach any goal she wants,” said Stacy Lettsome.

“We’ve had a new addition since the last Inauguration,” said Davis. “The minute Obama won back in November we decided we were coming back to bring baby Amoya.”

Lynn Igwemadu, 71, came to the United States in the 1970’s to work for the US Virgin Islands’ first delegate in the House of Representatives Ron de Lugo. Working on Capitol Hill for so long, she said she’s seen a lot of inaugurations over the years but this one was the most important because President Obama was re-elected.

“This is history and we are writing history right here,” said Igwemadu, “I missed the first one but I wasn’t going to miss this one. The change is so phenomenal. I’ve seen so many changes, good things and bad over the years. To be here with my family, it is a pleasure and a joy.”

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