I wish I could have voted in your neighborhood. I live in the reddest part of Virginia, where people still support George W. Bush. Our tiny group of Democrats will consider it an amazing victory if Barack Obama gets 30%. But I teared up too, going to the booth, knowing that we might elect a leader today who realizes there is not one single way to be an American.

I'm sitting at my desk right now, fighting the urge to bawl my eyes out... And I'm not even American. Tonight I, like so many others here in Canada and all over the world, will be joining my friends to watch the election coverage. Today has great potential to become a very proud moment in history for all of us.

Thanks very much for this post.

I was at my local polling place at 6:30am and couldn't help but tear up as I had the wonderful opportunity to choose something different, something better for our country.

For me personally, these last two years have been about an evolution in my thinking process. I registered Republican during my college years in CA, but after moving to TX and embracing my faith, I found that the GOP no longer truly represented me, if they ever really had in the beginning.

My state will most likely go to McCain, but my vote did not. I supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries and proudly voted for Barack Obama this morning.

I woke up very disheartened this morning. I live in Alaska and I'm four hours behind Eastern Standard Time, so there's been time to hear about people going to the polls.

On news stories about the election where people are able to comment I read the vilest hate speech about Obama's ethnicity and what he and his wife could mean for this country. People thinking my skin color makes me subhuman somehow.

Coming to Feministing today and seeing how people are full of hope for Obama has given me hope, too.

When I think of Obama, I always think of Maya Angelou's "Still I rise." Especially this part:

"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave."

I hope we can all rise.

Thank you for this post! Although we do not share the same polling place I think we might be neighbors... you put into words exactly what I was feeling as I voted in Brooklyn this morning. I got chills as I cast my vote for Obama and was so moved by what I was a part of.

Pretty good post, albeit a bit saccharine for what I think is going on. Not that I don't think Barack Obama doesn't believe that he's a sea change (symbolically, racially, politically), but I don't think he'll have the resources, nor is he, erm, left enough (for my tastes, of course) to be anything but more of the same: more hawkish foreign occupation, questionable deregulated regulation (see: Glass-Steagal), etc. Nevertheless, this is a huge victory - or temporary preservation - of liberal women's rights, as well as the certain lesser of two evils.

I live in your neighborhood and had a similarly poignant experience this morning. The atmosphere in the PS gym where I voted was more like a block party than a polling place! As a young, caucasian member of this community, it can sometimes be difficult to know the best way to become a part of the social landscape while being culturally supportive and respectful. It felt good to do the unambiguous, visible, RIGHT thing today, for Bed-Stuy and for America, and celebrate this historic, inspirational candidate with my community.

...with two white people in the picture, lol.

Anyhoo, I'm at a predominently black school in Brooklyn and it's palpable how excited and nervous everyone is about this election. No matter what color they are, actually.

I've gotten a few shout-outs on the street and a lot of smiles because I'm rocking my Obama 08 t-shirt today.

I'm shitting frisbees waiting for the results.

with two white people in the picture, indeed... this post hit a bit of a nerve nerve with me and i had a really sarcastic comment lined up but then i thought it'd probably be more productive to just say what i meant...

it strikes me as awfully ironic to see a such sentimental portrait of an urban landscape such as the one above authored by someone who's part of a tide of young liberal white people contributing to the rapid gentrification of these neighborhoods. i'll say up front i include myself as someone who has lived as a gentrifier in various parts of brooklyn and manhattan so i mean this as much as a self-critique as one i'd offer to other folks in my position. anyway it sort of grinds my gears to see so many progressive-identified white people feeling really good about themselves for living in mixed race neighborhoods when in fact they're mostly just collectively contributing to the eventual destruction of these communities and the displacement of lots of long-term residents of color. that the perceived "authenticity" (read: "omg! people of color live here! that's/i'm so awesome!") of these neighborhoods is so often cited as a source of pleasure by white people and as a main appeal to living in gentrifying areas just sort of adds insult to injury. i think we should be especially self-conscious and self-critical in moments such as these when we are inclined to claim unity (GObama!!) in ways that obfuscate the more pernicious role that we as white people play in reproducing white privilege and racial hierarchies right here in our very own neighborhoods. if we really care about racism, i think the work that's cut out for us is a lot bigger than voting obama.

hokay \rant

I have family in Brooklyn, and I know what you mean by "Caribbean food joints". I want to try one of those the next time I go there... Especially after getting some income.

I'm really excited. Obama seems to be in the lead and there's a lot more energy than I thought there would be.

Your post woke me up this morning. It kind of made me cry...right before school. I don't usually cry while I walk down the street unless it's for a really good reason.

This morning, I didn't know what I would do tomorrow if McCain was elected. I didn't know what the U.S would do. As a Canadian, I'd lost a lot of faith in America. The image of America, not Americans. Definitely not Americans. Mostly just the administration. You said, "For the veteran voters, a renewal of faith." I think it was a renewal of faith for many countries and many people - around the world.

Thanks for your post, it really brought the meaning of this election to a whole new level for me. I didn't know that an issue such as an election could even touch me and move me on that level.

Your post woke me up this morning. It kind of made me cry...right before school. I don't usually cry while I walk down the street unless it's for a really good reason.

This morning, I didn't know what I would do tomorrow if McCain was elected. I didn't know what the U.S would do. As a Canadian, I'd lost a lot of faith in America. The image of America, not Americans. Definitely not Americans. Mostly just the administration. You said, "For the veteran voters, a renewal of faith." I think it was a renewal of faith for many countries and many people - around the world.

Thanks for your post, it really brought the meaning of this election to a whole new level for me. I didn't know that an issue such as an election could even touch me and move me on that level.

I live in your neighborhood (same polling place). I was in line for almost 2 hours and joked with my fellow voters...it felt like we were running the marathon. People walking by were cheering and waving banners, cars honking, music blaring, even a city busy (passengers and all) were cheering us on. It felt great.

p.s. The neighborhood is alive tonight. I love this feeling!