(Photo: A city salutes its–and America’s–own. Credit: kirbyfest.)
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UPDATE: The following entry is now cross-posted on my Huffington Post Chicago byline.
As thrilled as the world was to learn that America elected its first black President on Tuesday night, the reaction to the news by revelers at Grant Park was transcendent. Here’s what you didn’t see on TV: a quarter of a million people spontaneously counting down in unison while awaiting the West Coast polls to close.
Drawn from the YouTube feeds of my fellow Obama rally revelers (one word baby: ticketed!), here is how we who were down there experienced the moment when America changed forever. A big shout out to the Obama supporters who took these videos: Guys & Gals, yes we did!
And if you, dear reader, like the videos, consider clicking through to each person’s YouTube account and telling them so. (Note: Folks who cannot see the videos in their RSS or email feeds can click the link above each one to watch them directly on YouTube).
From jdmellin (watch on YouTube).
From tylerl82 (watch on YouTube).
From lackadaisicaal (watch on YouTube).
From jmsmcntsh (watch on YouTube).
From kmbst53 (watch on YouTube).
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Mike is a citizen columnist and ex-New Yorker who believes there's more to life than meets eye. He's happily called the Windy City home since 2003. Like Studs Terkel before him, Mike intends to go to his grave without learning how to drive a car. He's been pursuing that goal for 38 years now, and counting. And yes boys, he's single...
4 responses so far ↓
1 Grant Park and the Center of the World // Nov 6, 2008 at 1:52 pm
[...] Reliving the Grant Park Countdown [...]
2 ray abernathy // Nov 6, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Great stuff from Grant Park. Our demos here in washington weren’t as big, but were spontaneous and it was a huge night.
[Ed. note: The commenter is noted D.C.-based longtime social-justice organizer, media expert, and author Ray Abernathy. Read his latest thoughts on his blog, From the Left Bank of the Potomac.]
3 i was there. « news from the flip front // Nov 6, 2008 at 4:43 pm
[...] to Chicagocarless.com for finding the [...]
4 chicagolo // Nov 10, 2008 at 12:10 am
[...] Closer and closer it came, and at one point it was all but over, but still the polls on the west coast needed to close. One minute before then, a count down clock appeared on the jumbo tron. When it got to 10 the entire crowd began counting. At zero we all cheered. Two seconds later the place went absolutely nuts- Obama was declared the next President of the United States. What a moment. [...]
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