What it was like to be in Chicago last night...

Karen // November 5, 2008

My generation gets its share of (often-deserved) flack for shirking civic responsibility, for being apathetic, and for generally being complainers rather than agents of change. All the more reason why last night was so momentous. It was an awe-inspiring moment for me and the other half million Chicagoans who were in Grant Park to witness history in the making.

Political ideology aside, seeing the country's first African American president accept and embrace his new role alongside hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens of every age and background, is without question a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I've never felt that much energy from a crowd; the mix was electric: Rumors being confirmed as people yell out result tips gleaned from iPhones. A crazy and colorful onslaught of colorful bootleg "I Was There" souvenir vendors. Smiles, anecdotes, and hugs being exchanged by total strangers, united by a common hope for a better future.

The moment will be remembered by so many for so many reasons. Walking through the park in the record-breaking pleasant weather I imagined what my parents' experience must have been like being the same park 40 years prior at the 1968 Democratic Convention. That night, my parents witnessed the chaos and riots, and my dad, then a law student and member of the Legal Aid Clinic, ended up at Cook County Jail, helping to bail out protesting friends of the Chicago Seven as well as many innocent bystanders. How different the crowd must have felt then, and what fear about the future their generation must have felt.

By contrast, the vibe last night was hopeful, happy, and excited. And, temporary sleep-deprived bleariness aside, the mood in Chicago doesn't seem to be fading 24 hours later. Thank you so much, President Obama, for a memory that I'm hoping will keep me fired up and ready to go* for years to come.

*Technically not from last night's speech, this was the night before. But it still applies!