This is David reporting from Massachusetts. Last night was one of the most memorable of my life, to be sure. Some 30 people from the Lawrence community came over to watch the election results. From very early on the mood was jubilant. As soon as we saw some of the first key states coming in bongos came out and people started to sing in Spanish something I didn't quite understand--"Obama! Obama! Obama! bah bah bah bah bah, Obama! Obama! Obama! bah bah bah bah bah." We drank Presidente beer and ate American flag cookies. When the announcement came that Obama had won, however, the real celebration began. Whoops, hollers, random hugging, crying, champagne. Then came McCain's concession speech. There were some cynical remarks, but we did quiet down and we listened. It was the best concession speech that I have ever heard. Everyone agreed. In the time between McCain's concession and Obama's acceptance speech people got up and spoke about what that moment meant to them. One woman, Rosa, got up and talked about how up until that night she had thought that government had nothing to offer her. It was her first time voting. It was an amazing night, not only on national scale, but because we also had a house full of people involved in their community and hopeful that they, too, could make a change in their city of Lawrence. Then we watched the Obama speech. It was a beautiful thing. After emailing Alison in Liverpool, walking around in a bit of a daze, I went to bed.
I worked today glued to the radio, listening to stories from across the country about people inspired by the election. It sometimes seems like a simplification to talk about this as a symbol, but I believe in the power of symbols, especially on this level. Listen to this to hear what I mean. I was only sad that Alison could not be here to share this moment with me.
I voted for the first black President in U. S. history. This is a momentous day for us all.
2 comments:
See, Lawrence is an awesome place full of awesome people who have been working to make it better for a LONG time :-)...No need for you guys to move out...ever.... :-)
I wish I could have been there, it sounds like it was an amazing night...people everyone are talking about it here and it's on the front page of all the newspapers still, 3 days later. Mary and I huddled around her computer to listen to his acceptance speech and were both so excited...I am so excited to see the changes that happen over the years to come
Post a Comment