2008 Woodie Awards
In your opinion: An unforgettable moment in time
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: Forum
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 at 11:00 p.m., I felt as if the world was standing still. At that moment, I was sitting with a few of my friends and my girlfriend in our dorm. NBC News anchor Brian Williams was about to make the biggest announcement of our generation. Senator Barack Hussein Obama II was the President-elect of the United States of America. We all cheered, cried, hugged and smiled as if the Rockets had just won the national championship. I happened to look outside the window and saw a crowd of fellow students gathered in the circle between the Crossings and Ottawa resident halls. We all left the room and ran downstairs as if it was Christmas morning. Students of all backgrounds were chanting "Yes We Can" and "We Just Did." People were hugging and taking pictures with complete strangers. I've been a student at this university for a year and half and had never seen this much shared enthusiasm. I ran up to the top of the stairs in front of the Crossings and just watched my fellow Rockets celebrate. I looked up at the dark Toledo sky and just smiled.
That night, I was a proud Toledo Rocket and a proud American, but I have to say I was prouder to be a black man. Barack Obama had finally broken the glass ceiling of the American presidency for African Americans. Many before him had tried, but fell short mostly because of the color of their skin. Barack Obama owes a small debt of gratitude to black pioneers like Frederick Douglass, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan and Jesse Jackson. I didn't vote for Barack Obama because he was black or because he was a Democrat. I voted for him because he was the exact opposite of what we've had at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. the past 8 years. President George W. Bush has probably been the worst president for average, hard working Americans since Herbert Hoover. On election night, though, this victory was very personal to me, my girlfriend and my family. Blacks have been in this country for over 350 years and it just so happened the first time I voted was for our first African-American president. I also took time to realize blacks were just one of the many different groups that gave Barack Obama 65 million votes and an electoral landslide.
President-elect Obama said in his victory speech that "if there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer." Even though the election is over and the celebrating has subsided, we all need to make certain that, as Ted Kennedy famously said, "the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
Mark Carter II
Sophomore
Political Science and
Public Administration
That night, I was a proud Toledo Rocket and a proud American, but I have to say I was prouder to be a black man. Barack Obama had finally broken the glass ceiling of the American presidency for African Americans. Many before him had tried, but fell short mostly because of the color of their skin. Barack Obama owes a small debt of gratitude to black pioneers like Frederick Douglass, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan and Jesse Jackson. I didn't vote for Barack Obama because he was black or because he was a Democrat. I voted for him because he was the exact opposite of what we've had at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. the past 8 years. President George W. Bush has probably been the worst president for average, hard working Americans since Herbert Hoover. On election night, though, this victory was very personal to me, my girlfriend and my family. Blacks have been in this country for over 350 years and it just so happened the first time I voted was for our first African-American president. I also took time to realize blacks were just one of the many different groups that gave Barack Obama 65 million votes and an electoral landslide.
President-elect Obama said in his victory speech that "if there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer." Even though the election is over and the celebrating has subsided, we all need to make certain that, as Ted Kennedy famously said, "the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
Mark Carter II
Sophomore
Political Science and
Public Administration
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Phyllis Golden Morey
posted 11/24/08 @ 7:39 PM EST
What a thoughtful and well-written description of the celebration that was held at the University of Toledo on the most historical election night in U. (Continued…)
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