November 4, 2008

I have to write this before I go to sleep. We woke up and I put on my Obama tshirt that I got from a skateboard shop. It was a beautiful morning for November. The sun was shining and it was warm outside. We voted by absentee ballot mailed overnight express to Omaha on Saturday, November 1st. We headed to the mall to find T an Obama shirt to wear tonight. We went to the summit of East Rock to take in the view. Then we came home. We stayed home for a few hours, eating nachos and drinking homemade mixed drinks. We played around with this map on CNN where you guess which states each candidate is going to win. We kept saying, "he's going to win... he's going to kill it, there's no way McCain will be able to do it." We watched each state... we saw him win Pennsylvania. We saw him win Ohio. We saw him win Virginia. We saw him win Florida. We saw his electoral votes rise and rise and rise. But we weren't sold. See, we would not, could not, allow ourselves to believe it until it was really over. We kept saying "how will they cheat us out of it? What are they going to do? They are not going to let this happen." But then we said, "this is happening and we gotta get out of here, out of the house."

We had to leave, had to get to our people. I talked to my daddy, and then on the bus on our way downtown, I talked to my mama. We went to a party at Hula Hank's that was sponsored by Hot 97.3 and the NAACP. They payed no attention to the fire hazard policy. They let black people in the doors until we spilled out the doors. We stepped on each other, over eachother, and around eachother, no problems, no worries, all love. It was the first time we had seen so many black people in one place, in one spot, on campus. It was beautiful. We got drinks. I screamed so much I almost lost my voice. Over and over again the dj kept saying "we have a black president, we have a black president" like he couldn't believe it, I couldn't... can't... believe it. He kept reminding us that this "is it" and that we are family and if there ever was a day when we needed to love each other it was today. Today we made history happen. We voted in droves. We waited in lines that wrapped around buildings- some people for hours. Hours. They played hip hop all night...2PAC, Nas, everything. And not just between punk and rock and techno. Black fists in the air to Marvin Gaye's "Wake Up," perfect, wonderful black people's music playing nonstop... then McCain came on the screen and the dj said "I think this is it ya'll, he's giving up!" They stopped all the music and we listened. We could not believe what we were seeing on the big screens in the bar. He gave up, graciously, saying "CLEARLY the people have spoken." YES WE HAVE. YES WE DID. Then he... Barack Obama... our president... OUR FUCKING PRESIDENT... came on the screen...and we went crazy. My God. Black people hugging eachother, being nice to eachother, loving eachother. I was and am so fucking happy to have seen this in my lifetime. We listened to him speak about the century of history the 107yr old woman voter saw in her lifetime, and were moved. The moment he acknowledged his wife... that was it for me. That was the moment. I don't know why that was the moment. I don't know why that meant more to me than anything else. All I know is when I heard him say it, and then when she and Sasha and Malia eventually came out I was so intensely, insanely, overwhelmingly happy and proud. I couldn't even cry, it was like a state of emotional overload... then he kissed her. OMG. My heart melted. I turned and kissed T. All was right with my world right then. I felt like there was nothing, NOTHING, that could get in the way of what we're trying to do. If they could make it up there on that stage, we can surely do whatever it is that we dream of. Together, who can stop us? After seeing that, I kept thinking who dare stop us? Bring it on.

Helen texted me to say there's going to be hair grease in the white house now. I giggled and stomped my feet. Grease! In the White House! We texted back and forth for about 10 texts each. I can't call my grandma because it's too late.

On November 4, 2008, we elected the first black president of the United States of America. I was there. I am here. I voted for this man. On November 4, 2008 I celebrated the most important moment in history while on the campus of Yale University where I am a student. I am a student at Yale University... I voted for Barack Obama... I saw him win. For my ancestors, who never had the chance... for myself because I wasn't supposed to have the chance either... I voted. And my vote counted. And T's vote counted. Our vote counted. And it wasn't even close. We fucking blew it out of the water and then, from New Haven to Kenya, we partied in the streets.

God willing, this is what I shall tell my children.