Election Night in Harlem

Above: Obama is officially declared the 44th President of the United States; the crowd soaks in the news, chanting, "we have reached the promised land." When Sarah Palin appears to be crying on TV during McCain's concession speech, some guys start shouting, "We've got pitbulls here, too!" Later the crowd spills out onto 125th street.

Below: people bought up huge amounts of election-memorabilia; passersby stare at an Obama ice sculpture outside Sylvia's, a famous soul-food restaurant.
After waiting hours in line to vote, then spending hours more gathering on 125th street to watch the election results, you'd think people would get tired. Apparently not. Hundreds of people were singing and dancing in the streets into the early morning hours. And the most spellbinding thing of all is that whites and blacks, latinos and asians all felt comfortable with each other. Some people may tell you not to go to Harlem after dark, but on election night I say you shouldn't go anywhere else.

- Seth