Richmond’s Impromptu Obama parade??
November 5, 2008
So last night I found myself amongst hundreds/thousands? of folks marching around Broad St., hanging from stoplights around Monroe Park, and continuing the march down Main St. Were you there too? Thoughts? I’ll say this - the cops were amazingly cooperative.
Chit-chat chit chat…..
22 Responses to “Richmond’s Impromptu Obama parade??”
1. bopst says:
When Virginia went blue, we (the staff at Millie’s) broke out in cheers (and tears). What an amazing moment in our history. I am speechless. I think people are going to celebrate for a mighty long time…
Now the hard work begins.
on November 5th, 2008 at 11:17 am
2. Matthew McDonald says:
i was on broad street. and i will say this. it was insane. best thing i saw was this girl hug this guy at the obama canvassing office on broad. she was crying and kept saying thank you.
on November 5th, 2008 at 11:41 am
3. Susan says:
Yeah I’d like to hear people share their canvassing/volunteering experiences. I am so impressed by how many people were so cheerfully involved.
on November 5th, 2008 at 11:56 am
4. mattwhite says:
here’s a quote i heard…
black dude to other black dude: “your not white anymore!!!” (followed by hugs and yelling etc)
on November 5th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
5. bopst says:
This is our defining moment. Let’s not blow it…
on November 5th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
6. Scott Burger says:
Although I voted Green (McKinney, African American female), I was glad that Obama won the state and the Presidency.
As for the parade, it sounds like the City needed a cathartic release. Hopefully everyone had a good time and I am glad the police cooperated. This City needs these moments. It is about healing.
I am less enthusiastic about people speeding down S. Laurel after midnight, yelling ‘Obama, Fuck Yes!’ as loud as they could, but hey, I understand emotions ran high and at least it did not go on all night.
It would be interesting to get a political breakdown of the DUI tank last night, not that it matters. More Democrat or Republican?
bopst is right. This is a big moment, but no excuse to act irresponsibly. We still need to hold Obama to high standards, including ending the wars and getting this state and country off fossil fuels. Remember, like McCain, Obama supports ‘clean coal’, which is an oxymoran.
on November 5th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
7. Phil says:
i posted a youtube video of the craziness on broad st.
it was definitely an amazing night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reR3nDqQIVU
on November 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
8. taylor says:
It is so refreshing to see Amuhrkans’ turn back into Americans. It was also pretty awesome to hear McCain supporters cheer for Obama during McCain’s Concession Speech.
on November 5th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
9. lp says:
this was an amazing night for everyone. I could believe the life and the excitement and the support that flooded the streets of the commonwealth. I will tell my grandchildren tales of this night……
on November 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
10. bopst says:
Hard times are ahead. I am just thrilled that a man of supreme intellect that has galvanized the American people is leading us. It is our responsibility, our civic duty to remain actively involved in the political process. This election is not about Obama; it’s about the American people and the collective effort to make not only our country a better place, but the rest of the world. We stand at the threshold of greatness and we have to seize this moment. Moments in history like these don’t come around very often. We not only have to Obama accountable, but more importantly, ourselves.
on November 5th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
11. Miles says:
I was on Broad when the firs wave of people came through, I ran back inside Henry to continue watching Obama’s speech, but right after it was over, ran outside to join the crowd, we marched, screamed, and celebrated all the way down to 5th street. There were people hanging on light poles, jumping on cars, and Jeezy’s -My President song blasting through car windows. I will never forget it. And yes, for once, THANK YOU Richmond Police Dept. for being cooperative and letting peaceful celebration be peaceful celebration!
on November 5th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
12. kendra says:
You could hear the roar of the crowd from blocks away. It was amazing. We took turns going over there to watch. Then we broke out the champagne and had an impromptu dance party at Ipanema. Which may have lasted a little longer than it should.( Allegedly.)
We all should thank those friends and acquaintances that spent the last few weeks volunteering and walking door to door. I saw some of them last night and they looked happy but exhausted.
on November 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
13. bopst says:
that is the best happiness…
on November 5th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
14. Rabbit says:
I heard about it, and read the article in the T-D about how cooperative the cops were and how they praised the “throng”. Is this an indication that we really will have a “uniter not a divider” in the White House? How cool would that be?
I wish the cops were so cooperative at the All the Saints Halloween parade last Friday. I was threatened with arrest for “impedement” of Main Street as I stood between the cars and the folks in puppet costumes.
on November 5th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
15. RVA Foodie says:
How many people were in the parade? In 2003, at least 2000 people took to the street (with a permit) in response to the re-invasion of Iraq and the police responded in full riot gear and attempted to trample people on horseback. The cops arguably provoked part of the crowd into spintering off and heading down Broad Street on a separate march; the only aspect of the historic event that got covered by the RTD. Too bad we didn’t have RVANEws back then:
http://richmond.indymedia.org/feature/display/4516/index.php
(yes, there were a couple sensational moments, but the war continued on, as we’ve all seen)
on November 6th, 2008 at 12:41 am
16. bopst says:
two different events entirely. One was spurned by outrage and the other was inspired by jubilation…
on November 6th, 2008 at 9:34 am
17. RVA Foodie says:
Definitely apples and oranges.
I’m sorry I missed the party Tuesday night.
on November 6th, 2008 at 10:14 am
18. Katie Jonesy says:
A friend in DC said there was a party going on outside the White House. She said it was crazy, I hope I can find pictures of this on flickr or something.
on November 6th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
19. Mat says:
Celebrating the election of America’s first black President at Popkin Tavern over a few of Manhattans: around $30
Celebrating the election of America’s black President at Popkin and seeing Eric Maynor celebrating outside the window: Priceless
on November 6th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
20. Parker says:
There’s an article on InRich.com highlighting the street celebrations in a positive way with a short video. There is a comment section underneath where people can upload comments. While there are some comments from people, young and old, that had an amazing, happy, joyous, celebratory experience and understand the monumental moment for our generation and history there are some really vile, hateful, and just downright untrue comments. Police actually praised how well behaved the crowds were…
Here’s a sample:
Posted November 05, 2008 @ 06:56 PM by Anonymous
“This article is wayyy to kind and perhaps naive about what happened. I was there. Simply put, it was a riot in the streets, filled with kids just looking for a chance to party and drink. Women were flashing people, people were fighting and throwing beer bottles, people got maced by police, there wer fire trucks and ambulances everwhere. This was not an inspiring demonstration of patriotic passion, it was drunk college kids in a mosh pit, a riot.”
So, if you were part of the celebration take a minute to go post your experience or even leave a comment with your opinion on what people are saying.
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/politics.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-05-0200.html
on November 6th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
21. lindsey says:
because i am an old person, i went to sleep at 11:30 expecting the best. i woke up in the morning and joyfully cried in the shower…it was just as good as a parade i think.
i’ve really loved reading about everybody’s experiences that night. it’s such a proud moment in our history.
on November 10th, 2008 at 10:50 am
22. Election night celebration footage | RVANews says:
[...] you all remember our conversation about the impromptu Obama parade(s) on election night? Well it just so happens that two graduate candidates from VCU’s department [...]
on November 13th, 2008 at 11:26 am