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Scenes from Dancing in the Streets

By Jesse Singal - Nov 5th, 2008 at 11:40 am

Shortly after Barack Obama gave his victory speech last night, I headed with some friends to the intersection of 14th St. and U St. NW, part of DC’s (relatively) recently redeveloped U St. Corridor.

The scene was unreal.

(I was originally going to cull some of the best pictures I could find from flickr, but DCist beat me to it, so check ‘em out.)

By the time we reached the intersection at around 12:20 a.m., a tent had been set up and a drum circle established under it. Throughout the night people would bring different types of drums, set them down below or near the tent, and join in the beat, which didn’t stop from the time I arrived until I left at 3:00.

I’ve witnessed a few spontaneous street celebrations before, but nothing like this. Nothing. At its peak I’d estimate there were several thousand people sprawled out into the street (the Washington Post claims hundreds but I don’t buy it)–an incredibly diverse crowd that was giving off a huge amount of love. There was dancing, endless chanting (the most memorable being “Bring us home!,” started by a young man in a military uniform), and that favorite pastime of ecstatic mobs everywhere: climbing stuff. Trees, a flagpole, the bus stop–folks wanted to get a view, wanted to further energize the crowd.

This is going to come off as extremely cheesy, but what got me the most about 14th and U last night had to do with that idiotic phrase we heard over and over this campaign season: “real America.” Last night, that was real America, a country that sees its diversity, its young people, and its inherently forward-thinking nature as assets, not warts to be ashamed of or excised. The chants were almost entirely positive. Even though last night was much about the end of one era as the start of another, the word “Bush” was barely uttered. You’d think the catharsis would bring with it some anger, but that wasn’t the case.

For me, a telling moment came when people began chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” I hate that chant, and I braced myself for the inevitable wave of discomfort I get when I hear it. Nothing. Because this was different. The crowd had reappropriated it into something real, because unlike the usual folks who sing this song, they were representative of how America really is, not some narrowminded, privileged conception from which you are excluded if you don’t look or act right. People of every race, every sexual orientation, every background were at that intersection, all of them Americans (whether or not they were born here) and all of them finally hopeful again.

The good feelings even extended to the police, who acted with extreme classiness and restraint throughout the festivities. If they wanted someone to stop climbing something, they would inform them calmly and reasonably. There were no arguments.

There are a million “buts” that go with President-Elect Obama, a million ways he, his administration, and the new Congress could fail to live up to the hopes of the dancing crowd that took over a DC intersection last night. But–and this is exactly the sort of symbolism I usually pride myself on ignoring–last night it didn’t matter, because for a brief moment the people dancing in the streets had reason to think things could get better, had reason to think they have a role to play in our country’s direction.

Image via Creative Commons user wumpiewoo.

Tags: 2008 presidential election, youth vote