Nov. 5, 2008
"Yes We Did": Black Americans Rejoice
Barack Obama's Landmark Presidential Win Inspires Optimism Across Generational Lines
-
Play CBS Video Video "A Victory Of Faith Over Fear" Civil rights pioneer Andrew Young speaks with Russ Mitchell about the historical significance of this election at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
-
Video History Has Been Made Russ Mitchell speaks with Rev. Bernice King about president-elect Barack Obama's stunning victory.
-
Video Maya Angelou: 'I'm So Proud' Election night became a great moment in history, especially for African-Americans. Harry Smith spoke with author Maya Angelou about Barack Obama's achievement.
-
Students at Howard University explode with emotion at the announcement that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. winning the presidency on Election Night in Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
-
Photo Essay Accepting The Mantle President-elect Barack Obama addresses the nation and the world after his victory.
-
Photos Election Day Images Snapshots from throughout the historic day.
"I was born in the civil rights time. To see this happening is unbelievable. We've got the first black president. A black president!" said Mike Louis, a 53-year-old black man who got teary-eyed as he watched the election results on a giant video board in Cincinnati's Fountain Square. "It's not cured now, but this is a step to curing this country of racism. This is a big, giant step toward getting this country together."
In Atlanta, Andrew Young, a prominent civil rights activist and former U.S. Congressman and Ambassador to the United Nations, was visibly moved as he described Obama's win to CBS News' Russ Mitchell.
"It's a victory of faith over fear, grace over greed and vision over violence. And I thank Barack Obama and his entire team for leading us in that direction."
In Washington, hundreds of residents spilled into the streets near the White House, carrying balloons, banging on drums and chanting, "Bush is gone!" Along U Street, once known as America's Black Broadway for its many thriving black-owned shops and theaters, men stood on car roofs, waving American flags and Obama posters.
Nearby, at historically black Howard University, hundreds of students erupted in cheers, broke into song and chanted, "Yes, we did!"
In Philadelphia, thousands of blacks and whites converged at City Hall shortly after Obama was declared the winner. Under a light rain, they danced to the music blaring from car radios. Drivers stopped in the middle of the street, opened their car doors and broadcast Obama's acceptance speech.
"Barack is in the house!" shouted Pamela Williams, 46. "This is very important to me. Change is about to happen."
At Sadiki's restaurant in Philadelphia, the celebration poured out onto the sidewalk.
"Our parents left this planet thinking that we would never, ever see this day, when an African-American could be elected by all the people to the highest seat in the land," said Bernard Smalley Sr. His wife, Jacquelyn, wept.
The celebrations were both large big and small, but the sentiment was the same - pure joy over how far the country has come. People honked horns, high-fived each other and embraced.
In Harlem, the roar of thousands of people gathered in a plaza near the legendary Apollo Theater could be heard blocks away.
In Cleveland, supporters gathered at a house party and held champagne flutes above their heads for a toast. "To the first African-American president in the history of the United States!" they shouted.
In Chicago, Obama's hometown, an estimated 125,000 people gathered on an unusually warm November night to greet the senator at a delirious victory rally at Grant Park.
"It's fantastic," said Hulon Johnson, 71, a retired Chicago public school principal. "I've always told my kids this was possible; now they'll have to believe me."
LaKeisha Williams, a 27-year-old laid-off school nurse, who watched Obama's victory on a TV in a downtown Kansas City concert hall, said: "People actually have finally come together and realized that no matter what his race is, he was the right person for the job. I think it was destiny for him to win. But now we still have to come together to make sure things work."
In Miami's predominantly black Liberty City neighborhood, Otoria Pitts, 30, suggested the significance of Obama's victory goes beyond race.
"His election speaks volumes for a bunch of people," she said. "Children of single mothers, people who put themselves through college. It says, you can do it, you can do it."
Joined by her sister, Susan, and niece, Akira, the three women bought a few rockets from a fireworks stand and lit up the night sky with color.
On the other side of the country, others were thinking how Obama's election could change their lives.
"I'm ecstatic," said Jason Samm, a 33-year-old business owner who was celebrating in South Los Angeles. "I have three kids, which means a lot of doors opening up for them."
Obama's victory also brought back memories of hard-fought battles of generations past.
At Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights hero, said he was hardly able to believe that 40 years after he was left beaten and bloody on an Alabama bridge as he marched for the right for blacks to vote, he had cast a ballot for Obama.
"This is a great night," he said. "It is an unbelievable night. It is a night of thanksgiving."
As the news of a projected Obama victory flashed across a TV screen, men in the nearly all-black crowd pumped their fists and bowed their heads. Women wept and embraced their children. Screams of "Thank you, Lord!" were heard throughout the sanctuary.
Surveying the scene, Mattie Bridgewater whispered from her seat, "I just can't believe it. Not in my lifetime."
Bridgewater said she went to the same elementary school as Emmett Till, the boy from Chicago whose murder in Mississippi was one of the catalysts of the civil rights movement. Both she and her 92-year-old mother voted for Obama.
"I'm sitting here in awe," she said. "This is a moment in history that I just thank my God I was allowed to live long enough to see. Now, when I tell my students they can be anything they want to be, that includes president of the United States."
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More From U.S.
Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 12
- next
See all 234 Comments--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by ljld at 02:12 PM : Nov 06, 2008
Do you think the next four years will be as good as the last eight?
Hey Maya, go take your "proudness" back to Hillary. We don''t want it.
This is not good.
All of you who thought the market would stabilize around 9000 are in for a rude awakening.
I''m looking for closer to 6000.
In the words of McCain: "the American people have spoken"...
That happiness and pride is a bit tainted, however, by the fact that so many black Americans voted for Proposition 8 in California. I was ashamed to see how quickly they forget...and that after all that Black Americans have been through, they''d vote to eliminate the rights of someone else. That saddens me beyond belief. I fought for so many years to get Black Americans to the front of the bus, and now they want to put someone else at the back.
GO OBOPRAH!!!!
Get a grip or better yet, get a life AND a dictionary...
Posted by jadejaguar at 11:14 AM : Nov 06, 2008
--------------
How do you know this is what he''ll do when he''s in office? What makes you so sure? And even IF Obama does all those things, he STILL wouldn''t be HALF as bad as Bush!! Instead of being such a debbie downer, why don''t you do your part in helping to make the country a better place? The bitter comments need to stop...
Posted by jadejaguar at 10:11 AM : Nov 06, 2008
Can ANY Muslim here confirm if Muslims beleive they are descended from Adam, Noah, and Abraham through Hagar and their son Ishmael?
Posted by concorde5 at 09:57 AM : Nov 06, 2008
You''ve brought tears to MY eyes. THANK YOU for bringing us together.
Maybe NOW we can start REALLY CHANGING THINGS.
Actually, it''s looking like he''s going to fill his cabinet with Clinton cronies hehe. Which I think is a great thing. Our economie was on its way up when Clinton was in office.
--------------
We''ve been there and done that. It''s time to get past rev wright, the bitter comment, Ayers, and whatever else you want to rehash from the primary and general election.
Obama won, the country rejected all those criticisms, it''s time to move on already.
Posted by bob5ford at 07:41 PM : Nov 05, 2008
Interesting you should mention that. He already did in Georgia. Hypocritical of a liberal to ''''talk down'''' to blacks just like Jesse Jackson said. I''m black, and it was one of the main reasons I DIDN''T vote for him.
Posted by TiredoftheBS at 08:58 PM : Nov 05, 2008
------------------------------------------------------
So when he said get a job you didn''''t like it because he was degrading you?
Posted by swingset4u at 09:02 PM : Nov 05, 2008
------------------------------------------------------
I''m with TiredoftheBS. I knew long before that I would most likely NOT be voting for Obama. Those remarks from him just sealed the deal for me. That was entirely condescending thing for him to say. And, to those enquiring minds who want to know... I have a job... a good one and I''ve had it for many years. My children are married and stable and my husband is a pastor. All black people are not riding the welfare rolls and neither are all black people "buying into" (terminology I''ve heard from some reporters since the "big day") what Obama had to say.
I am a 35 yo black man who lives in the south. I never thought Whites would vote for a Black candidate for president, and not just black. I didn''t think any woman or minority of any color would ever get whites to vote for him or her.
I was Wrong. I read your post and welled up because I am so glad I was wrong. I think that''s why Powell, and Oprah, and Jesse Jackson and so many other blacks cried Tuesday night. We realize we were wrong and we unfairly thought whites would put color first and not country first.
This changes our entire way of thinking. We can no longer use the crutch of racism as reason why we have not progressed further in this great nation.
I guess what I''m trying to say is Thank You!
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 12
- next
See all 234 Comments