Election Day 2008: The day that history was made...

What's going on, y'all. By now, I'm sure that you've heard the news about Barack Obama's historic win in the 2008 Presidential election. The past two days have been some of the craziest I've ever experienced and it seems that most people I see, regardless of their backgrounds, are excited about what transpired.

I had the good fortune of scoring tickets to attend Barack's celebration rally at Grant Park in Chicago on Tuesday night and it was one of the highlights of my adult life. I never thought I'd see a Black man elected as President of the United States in my lifetime and it felt great to be able to witness history in person as he accepted this new role. One of my friends (who is Caucasian) who did a lot of campaigning for Obama in New Hampshire emailed me and asked that I send him an email describing my experience that night...my response to him is below. I've got to warn you that it is a LONG email, so make sure you've got some time available to get through. I didn't plan to write so much, but it's an email I'd been waiting 31 years to be able to compose so I guess my fingers just took control.

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Tom,

Thanks for sharing that story with me. I had no idea that you were so active in helping to promote Obama up in NH. One of the things that has inspired me most about this election is how Barack has been able to bring people of all backgrounds together around a single goal of "Change". Also, I have to apologize for taking so long to respond. I wasn't purposely shaking you off. Rather, I spent all day apartment hunting and, by the time I finished, I was wiped out. Now I'm refreshed and can write a response worthy of the question you posed...get ready though because this might be a long email.

The evening started off at my Stanford GSB classmate Doug's condo in the West Loop at about 6pm. I'd been nervous the entire day because, in my heart of hearts, I KNEW what the right choice was but I feared that we'd find some way to get it wrong. In the early returns, McCain was leading Obama 8-3 and I started freaking out because I thought the Republicans' negative tactics had worked. My man Doug basically told me to shut the hell up and be positive, which slowly snapped me out of it and made me get myself ready for history to happen. Soon after, our other GSB classmate Avi and two kids from the GSB class below us (Tiy and Janel) showed up and we continued to watch the election coverage. By 7pm, some more election returns came in and, all of the sudden, Barack was ahead 77-34...at that point, we all started getting antsy because we could feel that the right thing was about to happen. At 8pm, even more returns came in and Barack was ahead something like 164-70 and we all started realizing that the seemingly impossible was about to happen. The energy level among our group kept rising and I could tell that this was going to be a special night.

At 8:30pm, we left Doug's place to start the ~20 minute walk over to Grant Park. As we started the stroll, we joked about how nutty we were going to act at the rally and all of the concerns of our daily lives just faded away, replaced by raw excitement. Apparently, everyone else in Chicago could feel "The Future" that was about to happen because the streets were full of other people in Obama-Biden shirts and hats starting off their celebrations. Our group was four black folks and an Indian dude, but, at that point, race didn't matter at all because there were people of all races walking the streets in support of Obama. I don't know how he did it, but Barack truly brought the people of our country together with his campaign. As we got within 3-4 blocks of Grant Park, it was like walking into a crowded rave club...the streets were locked down and packed with literally thousands of people partying it up for the Big O. I couldn't help but laugh at all the street vendors peddling Obama-Biden gear...I couldn't knock the hustle and those guys were making a MINT out there. In addition to the sheer number of people out there, I was amazed at how the Obama excitement affected peoples' demeanors. Usually, I'd expect people to be rude, bump into each other, and push each other around with so many folks in such a packed area trying to get to a single destination. Instead, folks were smiling, enthusiastic, and well-mannered...Obama-mania introduced "home training" when there would normally be bedlam. I was trying to have somewhat intelligent conversations with my friends, but I was so caught up in the excitement and sheer emotion of it all that I just kept saying "oh my goodness, I can't believe we're going to have a Black president. I never thought I'd see this day."

Fortunately, my man Doug had given me the heads up about how to get tickets for the rally last week, so I was able to get the hook-up. Between the five of us, we had enough tickets to get us all through, so we were golden. There had to have been thousands of us crowded around the entry gate to Grant Park like a massive rugby scrum, but, similar to the scene on the street, everyone was well-mannered and acted in an orderly fashion. Once we got through, we had to walk a distance equal to 2-3 blocks to get to another entry gate where the tickets were checked again. So, after the first entry gate, I thought there were a lot of folks around me walking to that second gate. But, soon after getting through the second gate, my jaw literally dropped...I had never seen so many people gathered in one place in my entire life. It was like the United Nations in that joint because there were people of all shapes, sizes, and colors in support of "That One" with branded gear, signs, and big ol' smiles on their face. And, everyone was cheering, screaming, and hi-fiving/hugging each other randomly, all brought together to celebrate one man who was brave enough to fight for real change.

As we navigated the crowd to find a place to post up, I was surprised at how nice and friendly everyone was. It was almost as if it was a big group of people who'd known each other for years. My friends and I started joking around with the folks around us to pass the time between announcements from CNN over the jumbotron...and we certainly needed to pass the time because we found our spot at about 9:30pm and Barack wasn't scheduled to speak until well after 11pm. Between 10pm and 10:30pm, I could feel the energy in the crowd building up because Barack had over 200 electoral votes by then and we all KNEW that we were about to see history. At about 10:45pm, CNN announced that Obama had won Virginia by a 51%-49% margin and the entire crowd went crazy. I mean, we all started jumping up and down and celebrating like we'd won the lottery. As a native Virginian (and I'm from the supposed "Real Virginia" that McCain just KNEW he would win), I was especially proud to know that my state had gotten with the program and made the right choice.

Less than two minutes later while we were still cheering about the Virginia win, CNN announced that Barack had officially won the presidency and the crowd went officially BUCKWILD, CRAZY, OFF-THE-HOOK INSANE! I've never witnessed a celebration like that in my life and know that I will never see anything like it again. My friends and I jumped up and down, hugged each other, cheered, and acted like complete maniacs. Then, I just turned around and started hugging and dapping up random folks who were behind me in the crowd. We'd all walked into Grant Park as strangers, but, once that announcement came, we all became "family". At that point, all I wanted to do was get my mother on the phone so she could hear the crowd and share in the moment with me, but the cell towers were either jammed or overloaded and I couldn't get through. Now, I'm not an emotional guy, but, as I stood there unsuccessfully trying to call my mom, I just felt tears welling up in my eyes. I guess all my years of seeing and hearing things that I never should have from my childhood years all the way to that day started coming together and the true significance of what happened really hit me. It was literally the most freeing moment I'd ever experienced. I just kept telling myself "oh my damn, he actually won" over and over again. I eventually was able to get my mother on the phone and let her hear the crowd in the background. I could hear the excitement in her voice and could only imagine what it was like for her as someone who grew up during the Civil Rights Movement to have witnessed Barack's win. I recognized how widespread Barack's influence truly was when I looked around the crowd and saw a white guy in his 60's crying his eyes out while we were all celebrating. This election touched all of us in a special way and I hope the angry McCain supporters let themselves understand that one of these days.

After the announcement of Barack's win, the only thing left was to wait for his acceptance speech. Before Obama's speech, McCain concession speech was shown on the jumbotron and I was impressed with his graciousness during the speech. The crowd at the rally applauded vigorously for him several times, which was the PERFECT contrast to the boos from McCain's crowd at any mention of Obama. I guess that goes to show the differences between the way each of the candidates ran their campaigns and focused their supporters, right? Anyways, it took a while for Barack to arrive, but, when he came out on stage, the entire crowd lit up and cheered like our lives depended on it. There's just something about Barack that makes him approachable to regular, everyday people and, on Tuesday, we were just a huge group of everyday people that were hooked on him. I'm sure you watched the speech on TV, so I won't go line by line, but there was just a feeling that everything would be OK with every word that he said. And, every word that he spoke during that speech seemed to be chosen so carefully...as if he wanted to promote the celebration and acknowledgment of this historic occasion while making people aware of the challenges that would come. Mixed in with all of the celebration, there just seemed to be a dual sense of hope and calm that swept the crowd...that and a strong sense of jubilation. Barack Obama had won an election with the U.S. Presidency as his reward, but I couldn't help feeling like we'd all won something in that election, especially after eight years of Bush (who'd stolen an election). As I walked out of Grant Park, I felt physically and emotionally spent, but I was so glad that I'd made the trip to Chicago to attend the rally. I witnessed history and I'll be telling my grandkids about it 40-50 years from now.

So, now as I sit here two days past that history-making moment, I'm still in shock. I can't believe that America looked past the color of Obama's skin to actually see that he would be the right person for the job. I recognize that I should have expected nothing less from America, but, as a Black man in this country, I've been conditioned to think a certain way when it comes to matters like this. And, the part that has me most excited isn't the fact that we elected a Black president...rather, it's that we elected the RIGHT president for the RIGHT reasons and the fact that he's Black was just icing on the cake. Our fellow citizens didn't fall victim to assumptions based on race, asinine attacks on his character (claims associated with Rev. Wright, Ayers, socialist agenda, etc), or "the sky is falling" threats to America's safety. The Republicans ran a dirty race and the American people saw through it...for a Black man.

I swear I'm tingling just thinking about the enormity of this as I'm typing this email. What happened on Tuesday is the most significant event that many of us will ever see in our lifetimes and I can't help thinking that it's a dream I'll wake up from. Tom, I'd like to thank you and your family for all of the support you gave to Barack during this election. Your contributions not only changed our country for the better, but also made a lot of us understand the meaning of "The American Dream". After 31 years on this planet and after getting the educational and professional foundation that people dream about, I can finally allow myself to believe that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE because a country with a 400-year history of issues with race actually did the right thing...it's simply amazing to me. Will Barack's win immediately change race relations in the US?...heck no, but I hope that it'll start a much-needed dialogue on race that will make things better for the next generation or the one after that. America as a nation changed for the better on November 4, but, more personally, my view of my own potential and what is possible for me in this country has been changed forever. Tuesday was a great day for all of us.

-Marquis