[HNN: In its special inaugural edition the WaPo tells the story of the Caldwell family, tracing this local family's history through slavery and freedom. ]

As the great and sometimes heartbreaking flow of events swept around the contours of this city, the Caldwells set themselves into the portrait album of America. Figures pressed between the pages of history.

One black American family: A mother and a father. Four daughters and a son. Forebears who reach back to slavery, and grandchildren who can now grow up with the knowledge that they could be president.

At times, blood and fire marred their city. On other days, the monuments of downtown Washington seemed to sway with the throngs who were marching yet again.

The Caldwells remembered their dead. And they honored the history their family had lived.