Yes, We (They) Can

So I guess everybody should already know what happened late last Tuesday in America. The streets in NYC burst out into spontaneous celebration the moment the networks called the election for Barack Obama. The scenes I saw were akin to a national catharsis.

Columbia students, mostly undergraduates, burst out onto Broadway. There were chants and a real sense of euphoria. A retired member of the faculty who happened to walk past the masses of students who basically took over the road and blocked all traffic, said it's high time campus activism sees the light of day again. He was either referring to the epic 1968 standoff in Columbia or the heydays of campus political activism right up to the Vietnam War.

Then these kids started marching towards Harlem and 125th Street, which at about 10 blocks away, isn't that far away. It was really cool. To think I'd wanted to do the pragmatic thing and stay in, to finish up some work. After screwing my schedule as a result of buying into the hype that was the Service Nation event where the two candidates turned up a few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to buck the trend.

But I couldn't resist it the moment I heard cheers coming from the streets though. It is after all, a historic moment. I pulled on my hoodie, press pass, grabbed my camera and headed out. The adrenaline rush of pointing my camera into people's faces was something I won't forget because I enjoyed it so much.

I hesitate to conclude that Obama's electoral victory means change has arrived though. I wanted him to win, but I think we need to wait and see. He's a great person, but sometimes there are circumstances he cannot control.

And of course, racism is not dead just because it's President Barack. Don't forget, he's also as much a Harvard and Columbia alum as any of the old white men of yesteryears.