PHOENIX8212;Looking out of his taxi cab window, driver Judge Mabry’s smile would not leave his face. He hit four red lights in a row, was cut off twice and almost ran into a garbage bin in the middle of his lane while driving around Wednesday morning.
Nothing could upset him today, the Phoenix native said, because in a few months President-elect Barack Obama will be living in the White House.
“I have been listening to the news all morning and every time they say Obama will be the next president, I can’t help but shout for joy,” he said.
At the end of a historic election season, Obama was elected the first black president of the United States on Tuesday night. Obama won 349 electoral votes to Sen. John McCain’s 1638212;as of Wednesday, Missouri and North Carolina were still too close to call.
The historic meaning of the election was not lost on Phoenix’s black population, said Tyjon Wyrick, a financial consultant from Phoenix.
“Yesterday was an important day for our community. A lot of us think this is bigger than Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream’ speech,'” said Wyrick.
While most blacks are proud of Obama for challenging the norm and breaking barriers, they also deserve a pat on the back for coming out to vote, said Eleesha Reavis, a crossing guard from Phoenix.
“Honestly, African-Americans are not the best at voting8212;take me for example, this was the first election I had voted in for years,” she said. “But this year, we came out and we helped Obama make history.”
The black vote was essential for Obama because the majority of white voters selected McCain, CNN exit polls indicated. McCain obtained 55 percent of the white vote, compared to Obama, who only won 43 percent. But Obama made up lost ground by winning the black vote 95 percent to McCain’s 4 percent.
The black vote was especially profound in key swing states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania8212;all won by Obama. In each state, the Illinois senator lost the majority of the white vote. In Florida, Obama obtained only 42 percent of the white vote, according to CNN exit polls, but because he obtained an overwhelming 96 percent of the black vote, he was able to take the state. Blacks make up 11 percent of Florida’s voters.
In Pennsylvania, blacks made up 13 percent of Tuesday’s voters. Obama obtained 95 percent of their vote, compared to just 48 percent of white votes. According to Gallup polls, the last time a president won the White House without also winning the majority of white voters was Bill Clinton in 1992.
Joelle George, a waitress in Phoenix, attended an election night watch party in downtown Phoenix. She said the atmosphere there was one of gratitude, joy and excitement.
“When I got home, I got down on my knees and thanked God for his help,” she said. “African-Americans have wanted something like this for a long time. We are lucky8212; a great man, a great politician and leader, and he is black. How exciting is that?”
Huge crowds also gathered across the nation to celebrate Obama’s victory. In Times Square in New York City, large groups of people gathered together dancing, singing and shouting throughout the night.
Thierno Fow, a business major at New York University, said he came out to celebrate rather than watch inside by himself.
“We are both African-Americans so I would definitely support him (as president),” he said.
The celebration in Chicago was also tremendous, as more than 120,000 filed into Grant Park for an election return watch party and Obama’s victory speech. Despite cold temperatures, Obama supporters were energized all night.
Ronald Neal, a 65-year-old urologist from South Chicago, said he, his colleagues and family all voted for Obama partially because he is black. In 1963, Neal listened to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech but said this day was even more historic.
“This is a great day,” he said. “Like Abraham Lincoln, (Obama) came from little means to the highest office when the country needed him. He appeals to everybody and will correct the errors of the last eight years.”
Margie Ivy, Trevana Funches, Lorene Price and Monique McCord, students from Chicago, also came to the park at 10 a.m. to wait in line. From their seats on small blankets they laughed, waved their arms and clapped to keep warm. The highlight of their night was hearing Obama speak.
In his acceptance speech, Obama said his victory was a message sent by Americans that they could not be defined as red or blue but were instead a collective group of Americans.
“It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled,” Obama said to a roaring crowd. “We are, and always will be, the United States of America.”
Sen. John McCain also acknowledged the importance of his opponent’s victory in his concession speech.
“This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight,” he said.
Yamaha Tong and Eliot Tao contributed to this article.
Editor’s Note8212;Jed Layton is a U student reporting from Phoenix, Ariz. through the Hinckley Institute of Politics and Shantou University.