By Shelby Hall
Photo by @joshua_flint
Election week was kind of like a mini-hell for us all. Whether it was anxiety, fear, worry or too much time staring at your screens, we all had a rough week. So, finding out that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won on Saturday made everybody explode with happiness. I, myself, celebrated here in Brooklyn and so many others did too. The following is photos of said celebrations, photos posted in celebration or photos helping to explain how folks are feeling. I want to thank everybody involved for allowing me to post your incredible, powerful photos of your celebrations and for sharing your words to better explain your feelings from this day.
Billie Beth Ricca of Sunflower Jam:
Link to @sunflower_jam's IG video post! https://www.instagram.com/p/CHToOAHF3Sq/
"So this week has been really emotional for me and not just because I’m excited for the next 4 years with Joe, but because of how divided my family and other people I love have been on this. The more I dive deeper into Trump and his administration and his supporters the more anger I am filled with and this has further deepened a divide with my close knit family. The last 4 years I’ve seen my Christian family excuse and defend this man and the more conversations got harder to “agree to disagree”. Trump has fueled me to learn more about issues so I can be better prepared for these difficult conversations and not avoid them anymore.
Being in NYC has been stressful this week too. No one wanted to see each other, and our communication was always filled with wrought anxiety and potential PTSD from 4 years ago when we were all blindsided by the outcome. So much was on the line for us- to have a man that stood up for issues we believed in, and condemned the things we didn’t, and a leader that demonstrates that character matters. A leader that wants to unite rather than divide, who can argue not wanting that right now? Joe might be middle of the road, but he is the medicine I know my community and my family needs in order to heal from the past 4 years. Waking up Saturday I heard restaurant workers scream “we did it we really did it!” And post office trucks, every truck and car blasting their horns. People on their morning jog with their hands in the air. People stopping their car and getting out to dance. And people stopping what they are doing and flooding to McCarren park for the most epic dance party I have ever experienced. It was the biggest celebration of anything I could have ever imagined. These people around me of all colors were crying, happy, singing, raising their babies in the air. You would have thought we overthrew a dictator. The difference from this week where everything was being boarded up, people avoiding each other, the streets empty, to a flood of people coming out even during a pandemic (that we all as a community have proven to take very seriously) to come together and celebrate an end of an era and the start of something hopeful and something to be proud of again. It feels amazing!!!!"
Theresa of @wanggangnyc on Instagram:
“Its unfortunate that I could not bring myself to reveal to my kids what they are looking at. To tell them these are over 20,000 lies by our president just within the past few years? To explain this color was for the coronavirus lies and this color was for the Russia lies. So I am thankful with new leadership coming to the White House, I no longer have to hide our president’s tantrums from my kids. I can now expose them to a real leader who has the same morals we teach them about having integrity to tell the truth.”
Josh Flint of @joshua_flint on Instagram:
“As a guest in this country and being unable to vote to directly influence the result of the election, the past few months have been overwhelming - constantly hoping that the rest of America would see the same path as most of the people in the liberal bubble I live in here. Saturday was also overwhelming, but overwhelming with joy. Seeing the city let out a collective sigh of relief with the realization that the country wasn't as broken as we all thought - that there was a chance to make things better for the majority.”
Jay Roberts of @jasonrobert2:
“BidenHarris2020. A new beginning in America. A country where everyone is accepted for who they are, what they stand for, and who they love. The journey has just begun! #lovewins."
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