If this were a normal instance, I would have posted this blog toward the end of last week, but seeing as I was in Chicago with little Internet access, it was a little hard to do so.
Yes, Chicago. I was there (coincidentally) on election day - November 4, 2008. This wasn't just any election in any city, though. This was THE election in THE city. It was the election that will forever make history. Obama was elected the first African-American president of the United States and I was there at Grant Park where he gave his acceptance speech. It was truly one of the most moving experiences of my life.
The minute I found out he had been elected, I had just arrived to my hotel. Everyone started screaming in the lounge. I thought someone had been shot because of the yelping that was going on. I ran over to the TV; low and behold, Obama's headshot was frozen onto the television set, next to the words: BREAKING NEWS! Barack Obama is the president-elect of the United States of America.
"Wow," I thought. I turned to my mom and said, "We have to go to Grant Park immediately." We got there just in time for his speech to start. I couldn't see him, but I heard him. His voice was echoing for two blocks. Hearing his voice, a man whose elegance truly inspires me, was a moving moment. These are some of the memorable parts of the speech for me:
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.
That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
President Obama's Victory Speech
I remember leaving Grant Park with old men weeping to my left and hundreds of thousands of people chanting "OBAMA, OBAMA" in the streets. I remember seeing a boy hold up a poster of Obama. It was so loud and chaotic, but he was still and solemn. That was the greatest sight for me to see.
Throughout the election, I have been following the rapper/singer will.i.am and his songs for Obama. His videos were the catalyst to get me to believe. I think all three of the one's i am linking to moved me deeply and changed the way I think about this country.
Yes We Can
We are the Ones
It's a New Day
Katie- This was a really
Katie-
This was a really good blog, like most writing you have. It was very descriptive and i really liked the videos. Wish i could have been there...
-carl(y)
photos
It's impressive that you got out of the hotel and went to Grant Park. I also like the fact that you brought a camera. Post all of your your photos online, and link to them so that the world can see them.
Katie, that is an amazing
Katie, that is an amazing story. When i was watching Obama's speech i was wishing i could be there. This is something i hope you will remember forever, that you were a part of one of the most monumental events in recent American history. I was blown away by his words on tv, i can't even imagine what it must have felt like at Grant Park. You are very fortunate.
Grant Park
Dear Katie,
Wow, that's quite a story you'll have to tell your grandchildren. That must have been such a great experience. I can't even imagine what the atmosphere felt like. It may be as close as our generation will come to the I have a Dream Speech of over four decades ago. I really enjoyed how you set the scene in your post, and then helped us understand what it was like at Grant Park. Thank you for sharing this experience.
John Foye
Incomplete
Dear Katie,
I was offended when I read you letter, " Yes We Can: My experience in Grant Park on election day," because it's not complete. You are not stating facts and you, like many others out there are making the election of Barack Obama a racial issue.
One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: " Obama was elected the first African American president of the United States." I know this is a false statement. Barack Obama is not 100 % African American. He is mixed. Half White and Half Black. But for some wrong reason a lot of people like you want to make it seem that he is 100 % African American, when that's 100% false.
Another sentence that I found wrong and stirred up some anger is "a black man could conquer a still very racist country." It's honestly comical. If this was " a still very racist country " then trust me Obama would have not become President. Let me give you some valuable insight. Without the support of the Hispanic population and Caucasian population, there would be no (according to you) "First African-American President ". You believe this country is racist, but you don't realize that this country is racist because of people who exploit a certain race and make it seem that they on top of everyone else.
If anything Barack Obama physique is more White then it is African-American. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying, Barack Obama's victory gives me a sense of hope and admiration. He represents a honorable man with both education and intelligence, but not because of the color of his skin. It's because he promises drastic change.
To be frank I its doesnt matter whether your Black, White , or Hispanic. Other then that your story was really interesting. You must have felt very estatic. I would loved to be there. I look foward to hearing more.
comments on a comment
As far as referring to Obama as the first African-American president ... well, here is Barack Obama's description from his own website, barackobama.com
Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need | Barack Obama Biography
The point that this writer and other writers on Youth Voices have made a number of times is that racism still exists in the U.S. today. That's a sad fact. And judging by the article that I came across today, we've got a long way to go.
The Associated Press: Election spurs 'hundreds' of race threats, crimes
Although you found my post
Although you found my post incomplete and misleading, I stand by it. I, personally, am not making the election of Barack Obama "a racial issue"; I could care less if he was White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, or anything else. That wasn't my point at all. But, whether you want to believe it or not, he is the first African American president; despite the fact that he isn't 100% African American, he is still African American. And whether you want to believe it or not, because he is the first African-American president, he made history.
His being half-white doesn't detract from the fact that he is, too, black. This, therefore, makes him the first African American president (which is not false). I think if you asked Mr. Obama, he would probably describe himself as the first African American president, but perhaps I am wrong.
Another point you brough up: racism. You don't have to believe this country to be racist, but I do. I have a friend who lives in Louisiana and he told me that after Barack Obama won, his classmates were hoping he would be shot, and furthermore, they vowed to wear only white clothes to show Mr. Obama that white people are still on top. If that isn't racism, then what is it?
Once a man from Atlanta that I met in the airport told me that, "There are only three problems with Georgia. I call them the three B's. There are too many bees, birds, and blacks." If that isn't racism, then what is it?
You say, "If this was " a still very racist country " then trust me Obama would have not become President," but then add, "You believe this country is racist, but you don't realize that this country is racist because of people who exploit a certain race and make it seem that they on top of everyone else." I don't know what you are trying to say here, but there has been much evidence of racism throughout this election. Furthermore, your "valuable insight" about how he won because Caucasions and Hispanics voted for him may be true. Sure, they helped him out. But that doesn't mean there isn't racism. That doesn't mean that there aren't people who oppose him for his skin color. What I was trying to point out with this post is that people supported him from all different walks of life at Grant Park, and on that night, I think people became a little more accepting; racism was a little less evident. This was refreshing.
In conclusion, I would just like to add that this post was supposed to be about my experience at Grant Park, not an analysis of how "black" Mr. Obama is or to focus on race. I value Obama for all the reasons you do, and whatever your opinions may be toward what I think, being at Grant Park was a time when change happened, when history was made, when race or religion or sexual orientation didn't matter for one night. We were there as Americans. I think you can respect that.
ELECTION RESONSE
Dear Katie :
I liked your post, "YES WE CAN: my experience in Grant Park on election day ," because I like the way you gave all the details about the election day. And Obama did make history because he is the first black president. And he actually deserve it. One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: "I remember leaving Grant Park with old men weeping t my left and hundreds o thousands of people chanting "OBAMA, OBAMA" in the streets. " I think this is amazing because a lot of people like Obama. even though there are many racist people who do not want any black president. One of my friends said that John McCain is going to be the president because there are many racist people who let a black candidate be the next president of United States. But I said that Barack Obama is going to be the president because everybody I know were voting Barack Obama. Thanks for your post, and I look forward to see your further post because we might have other topic to discuss on our opinions.Awesome experience
interesting??
Dear Katie,
I like your post "YES WE CAN" because I think that it is really well descritive about how you felt and how you saw the speech in front of your eyes. I also liked how you explained how the speech was and what an experience it was to be in Chicago and everything. I aslo liked how you said Obama won and everything and I liked how you posted up the quotes that he said. The quotes are really important as well. One thing I didnt like of what you said was about the black man and how it was a racist nation and everything that the black people deserve to be equal. I think that you are racist and not a very caring person and only care about your own color because other people deserve to be equal as well.
One sentence that you wrote that stands out for me is "People also chanted "Yes We Can!" and "Yes We Did!" I think the whole message of "Yes We Can" was a brilliant one." I think this is important because everyone should deserve the right to be equal and everything and the quote " Yes We Can" really stood out to me when I read your post and it should stand out to other people as well. "Yes We Can" really means something because everyone is able to do everything and have the rights to do anything they want to do and have the freedom of speech and religion as well. No matter what race you are you are all required the same for each other and people shouldnt just be seperated by their race. Also "Yes We Did" means a lot as well because we chose the right president which was Barak Obama and I think that he would be a really great president and do the right job as if to be done. I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD THINK THE SAME AS WELL. Even though he is colored that doesnt mean he is going to help the colored people, he helps all race as well.
Another sentence that I didnt really like was " I saw so many people whose faces expressed a relief that some glimmer of hope had finally come - that, in fact, a black man could conquer a still very racist nation." This stood out for me because you are trying to say that a black person deserved to win because of the black racist nation and that Obama is going to help the black people. I think that you are very racist about saying that because any one deserve to win the presidency and everyone is going through the same and getting made fun of their race as well not just black. Just because maybe your the same color that doesnt mean you have to go agaisnt the other race and say that its a black racist nation because its not. Its a diverse place and it is also a diverse racist nation. Not all people are treated equally because of their race and why is that? I thought that this is suppose to be a free country and everything!! Everyone deserves to be equal no matter what race you are!!
Your post reminds me of something that happend to me. One time I was at a speech, a total different speech from the presidency, it was about the presidency, it was about something else. It was about the school's policy and everything and no one was being mean other people's opinions and paid attention to each other and said that the school should be diverse and it should be. It should be an interact of all cultures and races from all around the world and I was happy that there was no racist people since the school was going to be so diverse so I dont find any reason why you should be all talking about the black racist nation like that. I dont think you should have said that in the first place. I dont think its right and I think that is totally wrong!! You are so cold hearted and it seems like you dont care about anyone esle but yourself and your race.
Thanks for writing. I look foward to see what you write next because I think your writing is really interesting and I really liked how you added all those details in, but yeah next time when you write something dont talk about your own race and stuff and be racist and stuff and say that its a black racist nation which is really not. Dont say false things and I dont really like that so the next time you write remember that!!
Misinterpretation
Thank you for your comment. I enjoyed hearing what you had to say, although I think you misinterpreted it. I don't know where you are getting the fact that you think I am racist, because my post is about how great it was that on that night everyone was equal.
I thought it was great for the African-American community that Obama was elected because it has never been done before. As a white person, I respect all races- white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, and so forth. I think that Obama's win is a milestone because for years and years the only people representing this country have been rich white men. I think it is important for our country to be represented by ALL of the people who make it up: this includes different races, religions, sexual orientation, and economic backgrounds. This is only fair for the people of our nation.
About the "racist" issue - I was saying that many white people are still very racist toward African-Americans. There are cold hard facts that portray many white people of this nation to be racist toward African Americans, and being a white person, I am always strongly advocating AGAINST that. I know that many people deserve the presidency, and that many other races get discriminated against as well, and it is wrong. But this particular post was about how significant Obama's win was and what it meant to me.
If I were to write about homophobia, or racism toward Hispanics, white people, Asians, or people of different religions, this post would have been completely different. It would have talked about how all of these groups deserve recognition as well. But this post wasn't focusing on that. It was focusing on Obama's great win.
If you knew me, you would know that I am probably the most least racist person ever. I advocate for all races, for all economic backgrounds, for all people - we all deserve equality.
Without George W. Bush would Obama be President?
Dear Katie,
I disliked your post, "Yes We Can" my experience in Grant Park on election day"because I felt as if in this post you seem to sound like you refuse to mention that he is also comes from a white family because you only mention the fact that he is African American.
One sentence you wrote that stood out for me was "a man who's elegance truly inspires me" I think this is a very arrogant quote due to the fact that Barack Obama might look "elegant" as you quoted but let's look at reality how did he win his presidency by being elegant? NO. Barack Obama won by making the candidates he was running against look bad, for example when he was running against John McCain he made McCain look as if he was a replicate of our recent president George W. Bush which was low class due to the fact that he decided that he was going to start comparing two totally different personalities so that the people would think that John McCain was a bad choice.
Another sentence that that i disliked was "a black man could conquer a still very racist nation." I think this is very untrue and offensive quote. I think this quote is untrue because first of all Barack Obama has not yet reached presidency he has been elected but George Bush is still president so i don't know why you chose to say that a "Black man could conquer a still very racist nation" if Barack Obama hasn't done anything yet. How do we know if he is really going to keep his promises and not make all the (Blacks,Hispanics,White, and Asians) whom voted for him regret, especially the Hispanics whom played a big role in this election due to the fact that if the Hispanic vote would of gone to McCain Barack Obama would of not won this election. When you said "very racist nation" this was very offensive because our country may be somewhat racist but not "very" as you stated.
The last quote that caught my attention was when you said"Yes We Can!" and "Yes We Did!" because you didn't really explain what those quotes meant and why they were said.
Thanks for writing i look forward to seeing what you write next because I think that other writings that you post might be more reasonable than this letter. I don't want to sound as if i dislike Barack Obama because i don't, i think that he might be able to reach goals for our country that are going to benefit us a lot as students and as citizens. I liked the fact that you were there to experience history you should feel lucky something you can share with family.
Another explanation
Thank you for your comment.
First off, the point of this post was not to discuss Obama's family background. I was just pointing out that he is the first African-American president. I don't think it is necessary to point out that he is the first "half African-American" president. In history, he will simply be known as the first African-American president. If my post was about "how black" he really is, I would have delved into the fact that he grew up in a white household. Like I say, his being what doesn't take away the fact that he is black, too.
We all have different opinions about the campaigns. I am no campaign analyst, so I am not going to really get into "how he tried to make McCain look bad" because frankly, McCain was trying to make Obama look bad as well - that is the nature of a competitive campaign I guess. I have a right to my own opinions, and the word "elegance" was referring to how he speaks in front of a large group of people. His speeches are very inspiring to ME, even if you don't agree with it. Being in Chicago on that night (which is the point of this post), I think thousands of other people would agree that he is elegant with words.
Obama may have not become president yet, but conquering a "still very racist nation" is referring to how he won the election, not what he has done in office yet. I know he hasn't done anything as president, but it is still monumental in this"still very racist nation" that he became president-elect.
You can argue about whether this country is "slightly" or "very" racist nation - again, this is personal opinions. From the stories that I have read in newspapers nationwide, there is still a lot of racism in this country, especially in the South. Many people want Obama to be assassinated because of the color of his skin. If this is going on, then the country (to me) is really pretty racist.
You may not be. I may not be. But there are thousands upon thousands of people who are.
As for the "Yes We Can", I am sorry for not explaining it. This has been an underlying theme in Obama's campaign that "Yes We Can" bring change and believe and make history. So, when he won, people chanted "Yes We Did" because he made history for being the first African-American president (whether he is partly black or fully), and because of that, he brought change to the tradition of what the presidency has been.
Thank you for replying, I
Thank you for replying,
I feel as if it is necessary to mention the fact that our new president is half black and half white. I also think that in your opinion on how the southern is really racist and that there are many people whom want to assasinate our new president i personally think that its wrong to hurt someone on the color of their skin i partly agree with you, what i dont agree withg you is the fact that you said in the south ok yes in the south but the whole United States is not the south.
I appreciate the fact that you explained the quotes and now i see why you wrote them. With the whole attacking between candidates i think that McCain was just defending himself by acually telling Barack Obama the things that Barack had done bad.
Katie- Im glad that you
Katie-
Im glad that you support Obama, he is a smart man and deserved it jsut as much as anyone. But when you say "First black president" he isn't...hes mix, white and black. But what i dotn understand is people beign so excited about him becoming president. If you think about it, if 2 white men fought for the presidancy, not as many people would have cared, but because Obama was the first "black" man to even come close to office, it was an uproar. But now obama is in and hes good for 4 years, but people say that now a black persoan can do jsut as muc has a white person can. I am a white male, and i find total offence to this. ITs like calling every white person a racist. No one denied that he couldn't, no one did...but not many have come close. But we are all human...and if you think about it we are all colored. Caucasian are white African/Hatian/etc.. are black Asians are "yellow" Middle Eastern are brown and natives are "reds". We are all colored, so it should'nt matter the color of his skin. He is a man, a human, so he can do jsut as much as the next man can.
Dominique at East-West
Dominique at East-West School of International Studies, Flushing, NYC, USA
I completely agree with you. I feel the same way you seem to captivate what I am trying to get across. Its just not about race and Barack Obama has promised alot and we are yet to see change. When Obama becomes president and I start to see a change in our society then I will truly acknowledge all that he is. But I feel people are making this a racial issue when yes its great that he is mixed but all the praise he is getting is not for what he promised the people but because of the color of his skin. I feel that alot of people voted based on race and not based on is debates. I just don't want certain people to feel superior because of his ethnicity. I really enjoyed reading your comment. If this means anything we all are mixed and we all come from Africa.
=)
you know i totally stole this from you right?
Obama Election
Dear Katie
I liked your letter yes we can and I think that your experience at grant park was great experience to have at such a young age to be apart of and to see history in the making. But I think that this whole Obama thing need toi end here and now I think that it is stupid to be attacking people on their views of obama and that this whole thing has been turned into a race thing and I think that this has partly to do with the media and their perception on the election. If you were looking at the the news that night you would see that the media only interviewed African-Americans and I think that was wrong because its not only African-Americans but everyone Whites, Hispanis and even Asians supported Obama to and they should have been interviewed to because they are part of the minority population to.
I think that this Hype about Obama is ridiculous because he hasn't even become president yet and their already saying how great he is in my opinion I am not praising anyone who I haven't seen do any work yet because he could turn out to be just like every politican say one thing and do another I am not against him I think that he deserved it but at the end of the day he is a politican and politicans do what politicans do.And don't feed me the bull crap about how he is differrent because there all the same no matter what. I think that this is all false crap because if it where two white men running for president no one would care well that how how you all got stuck with George Bush because no one cared to vote and most people voted for him so you all deserved his him and should have quite all your bitching and moanig because no one did anything about it And in my opinion Obama can't realy concur our so called racist nation because being racist has to do with an individual and our nation is not made up of many of them and that I know that we have racist put they will always be their and there isn't much we can do about that
It was nice reading your article and I hope you dont feel like I am attacking you I am only saying my opinon and my point of view on the election of Barak Obama and I would like to see more of your posts .
your post.
Dear Katie,
I didn't really think the way you did about your post, " Yes We Can. My Experience in Grant Park on Election Day," because I personally don't care about the presidential elections. The only thing I really care about is that as long as the president keeps us all alive then I'm okay. One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is, "Obama's headshot was frozen onto the television set." I was kind of surprised at first because I thought you ment that Obama actually got shot in the head and I was thinking, "Already?" The quote, "Wow." when Obama won the election made me think. I wondered who you thought won the election. I was pretty sure that Obama would win and I thought about what you thought would happen. I look forward to seeing what you wrote next, because I want to see what you thought about the election.