The Historical Victory: Celebrated in The Atlanta University Center

From Anthony: Tuesday November 4th, 2008 will be a day I will never forget. That day I got up early to head over to Morehouse College’s Archer Hall to vote for the next President of the United States of America.

I stood in line for three hours. I was nervous. This was the first time I have ever voted and I had prayed that the person I had decided to vote for would win. I couldn’t believe that I casted my ballot for an African American candidate for president. I voted for Barack Obama, a Black man and a person I believe could lead our country in the right moral and social path for at least the next 4 yrs. Never in my lifetime could I have imagined a Black person having a legitimate chance of becoming President of the United States of America.

Later that evening, I gathered with students from around the Atlanta University Center to observe the 2008 presidential election results. There were watch parties at Clark Atlanta, Spelman and Morehouse. However, I viewed the election results with students from Morehouse in Fredrick Douglass Hall. Upon hearing the results that Barack Obama will become the 44^th President of the United States of America, myself and many other students at Morehouse moved into tears of joy, immense excitement, and pride. Each Black student stood in disbelief coupled with a personal story on how much this election meant to them. Students at Morehouse began to sing “Give me that OoooBAMA spirit” a remix version of one of Morehouse’s college hymms, “Ol Morehouse Spirit.” For this historical evening, I could have never dreamed a day when a Black man could receive so much support from so many races and earn the position of highest office in our country. This is truly amazing. I couldnt have asked for a better setting to have witness the results of the presidential election than Morehouse. I celebrated this election with socially conscious African American brothers who like me personally understood the deep meaning behind this election for people of African descent. Later into the evening, hundreds of emotional students filed the campus singing, dancing, praying, yelling, calling their parents/grandparents, and chatting on what this period in history meant to them. Sounds of the night included “I cant believe our President is Black”… “I love this country”… “Thank YOU LORD”…”He WON”…”WE WON”.

For me, this moment in history, proved to be the first time in my life that I had ever been so proud to be an American. As the President of Morehouse College, Dr. Robert Franklin, “Black people did not make this victory happen alone.” He reminded us that there was a collective effort among everyone from all racial, religious, social and economic backgrounds that made Obama’s victory possible. The implications of this election for Black males means that our nation will now have a national public symbol of a Black male who defies all stereotypes that have been traditionally linked to us. Moreover, with Obama’s victory I began to see the true possibilities for America.  I have always believed in the possibilities for America’s advancement, yet I can now confirm that here in America anything can happen.

Praise God!

Yours in the struggle, I am

Brother Phillips