Dick Gregory Discusses Historic Inauguration

Dick Gregory, famed activist, philosopher, and comedian, joined Imus this morning to discuss-what else?-today's inauguration of our country's 44th President, Barack Obama. Gregory, a Washington, DC resident, had walked the streets all night with his children and marveled at the crowds.

"People were in the street, not looking for restaurants, not looking for the big parties, they were just there celebrating self, celebrating America," Gregory said. "We're almost about to see the real self, which is the real America, and what a wonderful feeling!"

Imus called the mood "magnificent," and added, "Not to be melodramatic, or over-emotional about it, but I actually got up this morning and I was all enthusiastic."

Gregory seemed excited to present a new face of the country to the world during the inauguration. "They're not going to see Iraq, they're not going to see Vietnam," he said. "The whole world needed something good to happen, and this is it!"

Imus suggested that Obama's swearing in today sends a message about the United States out into the world, that "we might be having some problems, but we can do this, and we are going to celebrate." Gregory quickly disabused him of this notion.

"This is about us!" Gregory exclaimed, an attempt to chastise the I-Man's line of thinking. "This is for us! I don't mean black folks-for Americans! This is not a stage show. We're not trying to convince nobody of anything. We trying to say, we want you to peep at ugly America, getting beautiful."

Asked if the country's enthusiasm is owed exclusively to Obama becoming the nation's first African-American president, Gregory said forcefully, "You're damn right it is!"

"He can't separate himself from being African-American," said Gregory, adding that the biggest losers of Obama's election will be black entertainers and athletes, who have heretofore been international representatives of their race. "When I look at my grandchildren, I see Obama. I see an ordinary black person. I see an ordinary human being that didn't have to endear himself to white folks and to the world because he threw 45 touchdowns this season."

Gregory went on to compare President Obama's historic election to firefighters who aim to "knock down" a fire, instead of simply putting it out.

"That's what happened November 4-it was knocked down," he said, referring to the fire of racial barriers in the United States. "It's not out. It's on the way out. It's still there. But we've never been this close to putting out."

Julie Kanfer