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Best Ways To Experience The Presidential Inauguration In South Florida

The second inauguration of President Barack Obama takes place on Monday, January 21, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Whether you are a political junkie, proud progressive, fierce independent or rowdy right-winger, there is much to do to experience the event in South Florida if you can't make the trip to D.C.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

National Day of Service
(202) 606-5000
www.mlkday.gov

Call ahead for listing of activities and ideas on how to volunteer.

Ironically, the presidential inauguration takes place on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. When asked the best way to celebrate her late husband's legacy on this day, Coretta Scott-King said, "The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others".

With a re-elected president who got his start in politics as a community organizer in the mean streets of Chicago, there is nary a better way to honor and carry on his legacy and that of Dr. King's by celebrating his second inauguration performing random acts of kindness or helping out at a local south Florida school to mark the day.

Screening of the Film "Lincoln"

Sawgrass Mills Mall
12801 W. Sunrise Blvd.
Sunrise, FL 33323
(954) 846-2300
www.fandango.com

Visit the Fandango website or call your local theater for showtimes and pricing.

In his Second Annual address to Congress in 1982, President Abraham Lincoln said of slavery, "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free---honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed, but this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just---a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God will forever bless".

In emancipating millions of black slaves and guiding the United States through the fractious and devastating Civil War, the presidency of Abraham Lincoln laid the foundation for the eventual growth of civil rights, the freedoms of which made it possible for a man the same color as the first slave to come ashore to ascend to the presidency of the United States, and even be re-elected.

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MLK Parade

In the vicinity of N.W. 12 Ave. on N.W. 54 St. to N.W. 32 Ave.
Liberty City, Florida
www.miamidade.gov

The second inauguration of President Barack Obama takes place this year on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., National Day of Service, held in commemoration of the slain civil rights leader's birthday. Assassinated like President Abraham Lincoln 100 years before him, Dr. King peaceably led a civil rights movement in the 1960s that saw blacks move from the back to the front of the bus, and into previously white-only schools.

Both Lincoln and King lost their lives in the pursuit of racial equality for all men and women; therefore, it is only appropriate that President Obama's inauguration can just as easily be celebrated by attending Miami Martin Luther King Day events as watching the inauguration on television. The parade usually takes place between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. with a variety of floats, marching bands, influential members of the black community and music, music, music!

Cinco Cantina & Tequila Bar

4251 Salzedo St.
Coral Gables, FL 33183
(786) 439-1730
www.cincomiami.com

Maybe you were active in the Obama-Biden re-election apparatus in South Florida and want to celebrate the inauguration with great atmosphere, good eats and a little tequila in honor of President Obama's inauguration. Or, perhaps, you worked for the GOP campaign and can't believe Romney-Ryan got throttled and simply want to dull the pain of seeing Obama win a second term.

Equipped with wall-mounted televisions, you'll be able to party like you're at the inauguration with $9 shots of Epsolon; or for a higher-end taste, Corzo, or the usual suspects of Jose Cuervo and Patron. Either way, we're all of the same party when we have a few drink in us, so you'll be cheering for the President before you can say, "Who's running in 2016?"

Democrats of South Dade 2013 Inauguration Luncheon

Shula's 347 Grill
6915 Red Road
Coral Gables, FL 33143
(305) 794-9024 for information
www.dsdcfl.org

Price: $30 per person including tax and gratuity; cash bar only
Mail check by January 10 to Tracy Romero at 7922 S.W. 146 Ave., Miami, FL 33183

President Barack Obama could never have been elected once, let alone twice, without a first-class field organization of supporters who worked diligently around the clock to carry his message to voters and gain him critical votes in the prized battleground state of Florida.

Not only did Obama win Florida in 2008 after it went with the GOP in 2000 and 2004; but he won it again convincingly---and without needing to win it in the final analysis---in 2012. So whether you worked on the campaign or are just a Democrat looking for a safe place to wine and dine and enjoy President Barack Obama's inauguration without being disrupted by hecklers, be sure to check out this bash at one of the country's top steakhouses.

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Glenn Osrin is a journalist and seasoned consumer products sales professional living in Miami, Florida. A new vegan, his most recent assignment is writing about the benefits of a plant-based diet and lifestyle while learning about the Miami vegan community. His work can be found at Examiner.com

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