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...“Words can hardly describe it,” said Rome City Commissioner Bill Collins in reaction to Sen. Barack Obama clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.
Other members of Rome’s black community, in describing their reactions, said “proud,” “ecstatic” and just plain “wow.”
The race between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton effectively ended Tuesday night. Obama emerged as the victor and the presumed first black presidential nominee for a major party.
“It’s a wonderful time in our country’s history,” said Rome’s Laney Stevenson, who spoke to the Rome News-Tribune on Wedneday during a summer tutorial program at the Kelsey-Aycock-Burrell Center on Washington Drive.
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“It’s a wonderful time in our country’s history,” said Rome’s Laney Stevenson. |
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Pam Williams, Teacher of the Year at Rome Middle School and volunteer with the program, said she hopes her students and other youth are paying attention to Obama’s story.
“I hope they are watching this so that they, too, will strive to go as far as he has,” she said.
Fifth-grader Amari Morgan said, “It shows that we can be a leader if we work hard to achieve the goals we want to achieve.”
Obama’s nomination is a victory for the older generations as well.
“To know what people went through during the civil rights movement and to have the opportunity in the same lifetime to see an African-American get the nomination for president of the United States — I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Collins said.
Williams said she also hopes Obama’s candidacy will encourage more blacks to vote in November. “We’ve got to pull together, be a part of the community, and have a voice in that community,” she said.
Henrice Berrien said she looks at Obama and just sees the man the people wanted.
“I don’t look at race. I look for the person that can lead our country and help with the issues that face it,” she said.
Regardless of race, Obama’s message of change and hope resonates with a lot of people.
“It’s generating a lot of excitement,” Stevenson said. “People are thinking, ‘Hey — maybe this time my vote’s going to count.’”
