Today marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. For whites in the south, the anniversary marks the start of a proud military engagement. For blacks in the south, the war led to the end of slavery and the start of the civil rights movement. And while celebrations for the event will be grand in scale and scope, this year's commemoration will not reverberate nationally as it did during the centennial. How do the two anniversaries compare? 

In 2008, African-American voters came out in record numbers to vote for Barack Obama. This week, President Obama began a media push to reach out to those same voters, appearing as a call-in guest on The Tom Joyner Show and the Al Sharpton Show, among others. But will it be possible to convince previously excited "Yes We Can" supporters to vote, even without Obama on the ballot?

After yesterday's election, Atlanta Councilwoman Mary Norwood and State Senator Kasim Reed will square off in a runoff to become the city's mayor. If she wins, Ms. Norwood would become the city's first white mayor in a generation. William Boone is a political science professor at Clark Atlanta University, and he gives us a look at the role of race in the city's mayoral contest.

This morning The Takeaway is reaching out across the country to see how the inauguration is resonating in local communities. We'll start with Detroit and Atlanta, majority black cities with rich African-American cultural traditions. William Boone, professor of political science at Clark Atlanta University, and Sarah Hulett, Detroit reporter for Michigan Radio, join John and Adaora with perspectives on the inauguration and their home towns.

Until recently, Georgia's Senate race seemed like a shoo-in for Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss. But the state's economic woes have given a boost to Democratic challenger Jim Martin, who is beginning to seem like the candidate that may usher in Georgia's shift from away from a Republican stronghold.