Last night I had the privilege of being a part of one of the most historical moments in my lifetime. I was in the overflow crowd of Grant Park to see Barack Obama elected the President-elect of the United States of America. I don’t believe I will ever forget it, but for the sake of posterity and my own memory, I want to share my experience and write down what I can.
I got home from work in Lombard around 6:00. Emily and I had dinner as the first few states started to report. We knew we were going to go down to the rally although we didn’t have tickets, but hadn’t committed to any exact plans. We watched the returns for around an hour and a half as we called our friends to see who would be able to meet up with us on our way down. The later it got, the more and more antsy I became.
We left our apartment in Lakeview a little after 8:30. As we were walking toward the L stop, there was already a tangible excitement in the air. We met our friends Brandon, Elliott, and Sarah at the L and took the Brown Line down to the Library stop in the Loop and walked over to Congress Parkway. We got there around 9:00 or a little after.
All of downtown was blocked off and foot traffic was everywhere. There were street vendors at every corner selling Obama shirts, Obama-Biden shirts, “Yes We Did” shirts, “I was there” shirts…the list goes on and on. As we approached Congress Parkway, we were greeted with an automated message about what was allowed in the park and what wasn’t. The lucky ones with tickets went to the right toward the area where Obama spoke from, and the rest of us were fed into the northern part of Grant Park to the left. There were mounted police present on the bridges and several patrol officers at the perimeter. Surprisingly, the security checkpoint at the non-ticketed entrance was almost non-existent. Also somewhat surprising was the fact that the apparent lack of security at this one point was inconsequential. Everyone overall was behaving themselves.
After some initial confusion, we followed the crowds directly onto Columbus Avenue, which was also blocked off. There were a number of Jumbo-trons set up–one was further east, closer to Lakeshore Drive, and another was on the lawn that was fairly close to Congress Parkway. We moved towards the Jumbo-tron on the lawn.
We got there at exactly the right time. We were a good distance from the screen, maybe 50-150 feet, but from our vantage point the screen was clearly visible. Shortly after we got our spot, they called Virginia for Obama. The crowd roared. I believe he was already projected at 207 electoral votes. Then, at 10:00 Central, the Western states reported.
The screen flashed: BREAKING. Another flash: BARACK OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT.
And that is when the crowd really roared. All at once, hands leapt into the air. People shouted and hollered and screamed. The anxiety of the day was released in what for many was a deep expression of joy. An African-American man standing next me held his hand up to his mouth, uncertain whether what he was seeing was real. After several moments of disbelief, someone even asked him if he was okay. I imagine he was. Another African-American man was on his cell phone, talking to whomever, and about this moment being history. As for myself, I hugged my wife and celebrated with her and my friends. As she stood in front of me I put my arms around her and was happy that she was there to experience this moment with.
Together we watched as McCain gave a very good concession speech to his supporters in Arizona. He was gracious in his acknowledgements and his prepared comments. There were, of course, some hecklers in the crowd (unfortunately right behind us), rambunctious people making snide remarks as he spoke. But for the most part, the audience listened intently.
The video feed then shortly went to a live shot of the ticketed area and the platform where Obama would soon speak to the nation that had elected him President. The wait was excruciating. A woman came out to sing the national anthem, which was patriotic and endearing but also struck me as somewhat odd. Then songs were played through the loudspeakers for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then Obama appeared.
Obama looked poised, as he so often does, as he waved to the crowd and approached the podium. We watched as he addressed the nation and the world. The victory speech he gave acknowledged the shift that must already start to occur as he plans to move from a campaign to an Administration, and the amount of work that must be done. His speech was forward-looking, sincere, and honest.
After Obama finished and his family and running-mate joined him on stage, the crowd near us already began to push its way out. We didn’t feel cramped until then, when we all started nudging our way to the exit. We had to jump a couple shrubs but eventually broke loose back onto Congress Parkway and then onto Michigan Avenue. Here again I was struck by the non-chalance at which we walked down these streets. Not just that these streets are meant for cars and not thousands of pedestrians, but that it seemed like we all owned the city in a way that I can’t say I’ve ever felt before in Chicago.
Brandon took off up Michigan Avenue and we tried our luck on the L again. We walked back to the Library L stop and got on the train with a very short wait at the turnstiles and zero wait at the platform. I must say that the CTA handled this event very very well and was operating better than I’ve ever seen it run. We got to the Belmont stop at 12:05 and were home shortly after.
It was a memorable night. In a way I tried to detach myself from the event to try to keep the immensity of it in mind even while it was going on. We were witnessing the political ascension of an African-American Chicago politician from the South Side be embraced not just by our city, but by our country, to be the leader of our government for the next four years. The first African-American president, and from Chicago no less. I cannot tell you what that will mean to this city, that has for so long had such a sordid history of racial segregation and tension, and what it will mean to our country.
Last night, Chicago was truly the City of Broad Shoulders, standing tall and proud. There was a tangible levity and optimism tempered with resolve as the residents walked about. Though the sun had set, Chicago was bright. Obama had won, and we had witnessed, participated in, and celebrated his victory. In our City.
Posted by theshortestverse 
