America 250: 150 people become American citizens at Mount Vernon

MOUNT VERNON, Va. (AP) — People who were about to become U.S. citizens sat in folding chairs on George Washington’s lawn in Mount Vernon Saturday, 250 years after the Declaration of Independence.

The sun was beating down and the well-dressed crowd was a beat of paddle fans stamped with American flags. Their families clung to the shade of trees on either side, where one woman had two American flags stuck in her ponytail.

“Well, hello, everyone,” said Anne Neal Petri, regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

“Good morning!” an excited crowd returned.

“And happy birthday, United States of America!” Petri exclaimed.

There were 150 people from 50 countries around the world sitting in front of the small stage as they prepared to take the oath of office as American citizens in observance of the Fourth of July holiday and America’s 250th birthday. Among them was U.S. Marine Sgt. Diakaria Sangaré from Guinea, who was present in his pressed blue uniform with three medals pinned to his left breast.

Sangaré had served two deployments and, like everyone gathered, had gone through the lengthy citizenship process: the test, the interviews, the green cards and the biometrics. Others in the crowd, it was said, came from countries plagued by violence. Some fled persecution.

After a speech about Washington, the crowd was asked to stand to hear the national anthem.

They did it. Their hats came off and their hands covered their hearts. The paddle fans have calmed down.

The singer spoke these words: “And the red glow of the rocket, the bombs that exploded in the air proved all night that our flag was still there” – while Sangaré held his right hand in a stiff salute, his face sober.

At the end of the song, the future citizens clapped and returned to their seats, while another speaker asked them to stand and remain standing when their country was called.

“Albania.”

In the front row, a woman with long black hair stood up with a broad smile, a small American flag in her hand.

“Bangladesh”.

A man in a black shirt stood up. The Albanian woman, looking back, smiled at him.

It continued in 50 countries, across China, El Salvador, Iraq and Mongolia, as people stood, sometimes smiling, sometimes calm.

On “Morocco,” a man in the back raises his fists in the air in support. A young boy looked up at him then did the same, a small flag in his hand.

Then the crowd, with raised hands, recited a pledge of allegiance, not so different from the one signed by Washington in 1778.

“Congratulations,” they were told. “You just became American citizens.”

There was applause and laughter, then the pledge of allegiance. Sangaré, with his hand now on his heart, closed his eyes for a moment.

Nearby was a tulip poplar tree, planted at Washington’s direction 250 years ago, which has lived throughout America’s history.

The next speaker, historian Douglas Bradburn, highlighted this in his speech to today’s special guest.

“All the stories that are part of you now become American stories,” Bradburn said. “When people ask me what Americans are like, now I can talk about you and your stories.”

“The second thing is that now all of America’s stories, and our history, are your stories. The father of your country is George Washington.”

It turned out that the first president was the next speaker.

During his presentation, the reenactor stood near a huge draped American flag, a sword sheath on his hip. Then he went on stage, took off his cap to the audience and began to speak.

“Today, the name ‘American’ belongs to you as much as it does to me,” he said. He spoke of their arduous journeys thus far and their stories, now merged with America.

“So, my fellow Americans, I simply say, ‘Welcome home.’”

Next, Sangaré, the U.S. Marine, posed for a portrait, his hands clasped in front of him, holding the American flag fan, his Marine cap slightly askew.

“I just became an American citizen,” he said, his emotions showing through a genuine smile.

____ Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas.

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