Islanders gather at the African Meeting House to watch President Barack Obama take the oath of office

PHOTO BY ROB BENCHLEY Renee Oliver, co-site manager for the African Meeting House, greets the crowd. Jean Duarte, 67, grew up in the segregated South.

She remembers as a young girl not being served at the lunch counter in her home town in North Carolina.

"We were allowed to ride only in the back of the bus," said Duarte. "We did a lot of walking."

Duarte, along with 50 other islanders, watched Barack Obama become the 44th president of the United States yesterday at the historic African Meeting House.

Duarte wiped away tears as Obama told the story in his inauguration speech about his own father, a black man, who, had he lived, would be in his 60s, and was not served at a local lunch counter, yet had a son "who can stand before you and take this oath."

John O'Neill, former superintendent of Nantucket Public Schools, was one of the first to serve in the Peace Corps, established during John F. Kennedy's administration. O'Neill worked in Puerto Rico during the 60s and trained young college graduates to serve and work in developing countries.

"It's a significant event," said O'Neill. "When I listened to Barack's acceptance speech, I closed my eyes. I did not hear Barack, I heard JFK. Hopefully, he will bring together the vision of all people, young and old."

The African Meeting House was built in the 1820's by the African Baptist Society and is the only public building still in existence that was built and occupied by the African American community during the 19th century.

"I was going to stay home," said Duarte. "Yet, I came to the meeting house because, in a way, it started here. Being in an African place, it's so overwhelming."

Nantucket holds a special place in American history. It was on Nantucket that slavery was first abolished and schools desegregated.

African American whaling captain Absalom Boston donated the land for the African Church and School, which was to become the African Meeting House.

Renee and Bill Oliver are site managers of the African Meeting House and explored the idea of inviting the public to watch as the first African American was sworn in as president of the United States

"It's an old historic building built for children of color to attend school. It became a place of worship and then a meeting house," said Renee Oliver. "It is appropriate to be here in this place."

Oliver grew up as a woman of color in New York and recently retired from teaching second grade at the Nantucket Public Schools.

"It is one of these momentous occasions," said Oliver. "My thoughts last night were of Martin Luther King. There is still work to be done, especially in the Middle East."

For the most part an older crowd, the audience at the meeting house was reserved, except for when President Obama was called to the podium to take his oath of office. The Nantucket audience stood, cheered and clapped.

"The most touching part is seeing how much people are coming together and sharing common feelings," said Tina Hoskins, owner of the Tennis Loft. "There is a whole new day. A whole new beginning." I