The inauguration of President Barack Obama was a moving and cherished experience for Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, as it was for millions of other African-Americans.
Gaston told the Toronto Star he was moved to tears when Obama was sworn into office as the 44th president. "I thought about my mom, I thought about my dad and I thought about my uncles who fought in (World War II)," Gaston said. "I thought about Dr. Martin Luther King. I even go back to Jackie Robinson and what he did.
"I can understand much about what Jackie went through. He went through all of what he did for President Obama and myself, so we could accomplish things in life that we wouldn't have been able to."
Gaston, 64, who experienced the ugliness of segregation early in his minor league career, said a multitude of memories swept over him while he watched the ceremony.
"Certain things came to my mind," Gaston said. "Sitting in the balcony and not being able to sit down(stairs) in theatres. Riding on the back of the bus. My first year at Waycross, Ga., spring training camp -- we were segregated the first year. To see this happen was something I never thought I would see. Tears of joy ... but of sadness, sometimes."
