Durham, North Carolina: Obama's Election Victory Projected on an Inflatable Screen

On election night, we all piled into the center of downtown Durham… And at a certain point, the crowd outside got louder, watching a live feed on a giant inflatable screen. We moved outside, boots sinking into the municipal mud just in time to see CNN declare that the McCain campaign “didn't see a path to victory.”

By the time they announced Obama the winner, we were arm in arm under the misting rain, dancing, hugging, laughing, cheering. Tears were shed, strangers were hugged. I watched Obama's speech wrapped in the arms of one of my best friends, a tear slipping down my cheek when he repeated his famous mantra. It broke the fever of discontent and cynicism incubated in the ranks of my generation for the past eight years.

--Olivia Hayes