Obama Election article

In my journalism class, we were asked to interview a classmate about what they were doing when Obama won the election. I interview Karen Merrit who was working at her regular job as a waitress when the news came down. Enjoy...


It was unusually busy for a Tuesday night at Toby’s Bar and Grill in North Chicago on November 4^th, but this was no ordinary weekday. Karen Merritt, a 51-year-old African American woman, and waitress at Toby’s, was ecstatic to be working at the bar for election night. There were still polling stations open, but there was an air of expectancy and celebration in this cozy bar about an hour north of Chicago, a city that was about to take the world’s center stage to usher in their shining star, Barack Hussein Obama II.

The crowd, largely comprised of African Americans, was boisterous and cheerful, happily ordering round after round of libations, trying their best to enjoy this night to its fullest. Cheers like “Obama’s gonna get it!” and “He’s gonna win!” could be heard repeatedly as the crowd, including Merritt, looked on at the six TVs broadcasting the latest news of the election. “The peoples’ reactions to the proceedings on the TV were powerful to me”, Merritt said, with a wide grin as she reflects on the special night, “This is history!” she exclaimed, “Look how far we’ve come,” addressing both the African American community and our country as a whole. “Forty years ago, Robert F. Kennedy stated that one day our country would have an African American president. I can’t believe it has come true.”

When looking back on this historic night, Merritt can remember vividly seeing Jesse Jackson on TV, with tears streaming down his face.

“Some of my customers were questioning whether or not Jackson’s tears were real,” Merritt stated, “I knew when I saw him that they were truly sincere. I was touched.”

She remembers a co-worker of hers crying with joy and a regular customer consoling her. She remembers hearing people saying “Can you believe it?!” over and over. “I was in awe”, Merritt explains.

While elation and hopefulness filled the bar room, Merritt couldn’t help think about the people that came before them: civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr. along with more personal individuals. “I wish my mom, dad and grandma could be here to see this”, Merritt explained. This is an incredibly significant cultural event, and while this is generally viewed as a positive thing, African Americans are also feeling pressure of having their first appointed president. One of Merritt’s customers explains: “You know us black people need to respond and represent. We need to make Obama look as good as possible. He is going to have a lot to deal with. We need to make this tough time as easy for him as we can.”

Things look positive to Merritt and her patrons at Toby’s, although everyone knows that much work is still ahead. When asked what she hopes President-elect Obama will accomplish in these next four years, Merritt has reasonable expectations: “I hope that he can incorporate and successfully incorporate at least one of his main ideas. Just one. That would be such a victory. Just one.”