Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Obama's Night
Hello family. Well today is the day! I have not felt a nervous excitement like this since my first child was born. You know it’s going to happen and you have anticipated it for a long time, but when the day finally arrives, it still seems to catch you by surprise. The Delegate breakfast seemed like a mere formality that I wanted to hurry and get out of the way.
I wanted to be at the stadium as soon as possible, so that I could begin to take in the whole experience. I arrived to the entrance of the stadium at about 2pm. As a Delegate, I had a pass that gave me complete access to the floor of the stadium. As I descended to the stadium floor, I felt as though I was moving towards sacred ground. Trying to look as though I belonged (which is a little hard for me, lol), I made my way to the stage. As I stood at the foot of the stage, I closed my eyes, and silently recognize the presence of my ancestors. As the sun shined on my face, it was as if my God was acknowledging me and me alone at this moment. I felt like screaming, but with security all around me, I chose to scream only on the inside. I thought to myself, “This is the place where history will be made and destiny fulfilled!”
Activity was buzzing all around me. Practically every major news reporter I’d ever seen on TV, was now circling around where I was standing. I called Tiffany as I made my way over to CNN’s live broadcast. I told her to call the children to the TV and watch. There I was on live TV behind Wolfe Blitzer, as he is conducting his live show. Yemaya told me to hold up rabbit ears behind Blitzer’s head. Although tempting, I decided to play it cool. Nancy Pellosi, Howard Dean, Jesse Jackson, Jr., James Clyburn, and many other national leaders moved about the floor in a very relaxed manner.
The area was sectioned off by huge signs indicating where each state’s Delegation should be seated. My seat within the Maryland Delegation, was next to PG County Exec. Jack Johnson and Baltimore City Mayor, Sheila Dixon. In front of me was Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Rep. John Sarbanes (who I’m hearing will be making a run a Baltimore Mayor), and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger. The formers Governor, Parris Glendenning and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend also sat in front of me during the event.
The convention began with performances by a number of musicians. Of note, were John Legend and the great Stevie Wonder. The event sort of became a party with everyone dancing and singing as the music played. I tried to play it cool until they play, “Ain’t No Stoppin Us Now.” Tiffany and the kids said they saw me dancing. Yemaya said, “shake and bake daddy!” So I did...it was pretty exuberating.
The speakers then began to make the case for this historic moment. Al Gore and others received a meteoric applause as they set the stage for Obama. Finally, Obama took the stage and delivered what both supporters and critics are calling the greatest speech ever. It began with an applause that seemed to last forever. Each time he attempted to begin to speak, the applause became louder. Eventually the crowd settled in allowed him to begin. He began his speech in a declarative mode and never let up. At one point, as he spoke of what he described as the old politics of Republican trappings, he yelled, ”Enough!” This was the moment…the moment that seemed to declare the new beginning was here. It was a WOW moment in the stadium that seemed to catch everyone off guard. When it was realized what had just happened, there was a ruckus approval. He later moved to recognize the historical implications of the moment, by acknowledging the anniversary of Dr. King’s speech. In the end, I felt I had witnessed a truly remarkable moment. He closed his speech to roaring applause and standing ovations which was sealed with fireworks. Family, the rest is history.
