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This Is Us
How It Felt to Be in Washington, D.C. on Election Night
The beautiful world I am imagining has a place for you in it. Can you say the same about me?
Last night, election night, I stood on the precipice of today and embodied every inch of my being. There I was at the fence peering in at the White House while Beyoncé’s Freedom played behind me, wondering how many more moments I will get after this one. I wonder how many people out here voted for liberation. And liberation from what and for who. On my hand were five stories of love in my life I had written before I arrived so I would remember why I voted and who I voted for. On my hand was a lifeline, not only back to me, but toward the best of humanity that I wanted to fight to keep.
I had shown up to hold witness to this moment and the lives around me. The atmosphere was electrifying. Where do you throw your focus? Do you feel yourself first, and then expand? Or do you reach out before you pull in? How do you decide who to care about? When do you decide to leave them and look away? Do you carry their memory or do you let it slide away? I have sat down to write this many times within the last 24 hours and I still do not have the answers to any of these questions. I still do not know who to memorialize in writing and who to leave out.
But for today, this piece, I will start inward and then expand.
I had just arrived at the park where the Go-Go bands were playing and it felt like release. My fingertips were tingling and my breath was sure. The cold that had first nipped at my ears disappeared as I walked into the fray.
Close your eyes and try to imagine this scene:
Black bodies, swirling and dancing to the music, in front of police officers with the White House looming behind us. The air smells of weed and cigarettes and you can hardly hear each other over the band. On the outskirts of the crowd a young Black boy starts breaking it down. Dancing with every cell he has while the crowd cheers him on. A little bit down the street a young girl is pushing a toddler in a stroller, following a woman into community. People are circling around burning sage and you can almost see the prayers rolling off them. Everywhere…
