| The Democratic National Convention and the Nomination of U.S. Senator Barack Obama Witnesses to a historical moment |
was a superdelegate and committed to Obama. Frances Huntley-Cooper and Stan Davis were elected Obama delegates and Celia Jackson an alternate at the
Second Congressional District’s Democratic caucuses.
They were joined in Denver by Al Cooper, who attended the convention as an observer.
Over the course of four issues of The Capital City Hues, we are reliving the historic Democratic convention through their eyes.
Thursday, August 28
This day was the big conclusion to the convention, the acceptance speech of Barack Obama. The venue had been shifted to Mile High Stadium from the
Pepsi Center to allow over 80,000 people observe the historic event. Most of the delegates got to the stadium by 3 p.m. although Obama’s speech wasn’t slated
to begin until 8 p.m. Mountain time. The intervening hours were filled with speeches and entertainment. For the delegates, the time passed quickly.
“I really didn’t have a frame of reference in terms of what it should be like,” Celia Jackson said. “Probably most of us didn’t because this was the first
acceptance speech in a stadium of that size. Given the extent of the crowd and the whole bit — I sat with the Wisconsin delegation — we were just having a
party of our own while we were waiting for Senator Obama to come out. Between the music, Stevie Wonder and Michael McDonald, and hearing Al Gore come
out and give his rousing speech and his endorsement of Senator Obama, the start of it all with Jennifer Hudson singing the Star Spangled Banner, the evening
just flowed. We were there for six hours and the time went by so quickly. I’m telling you, it was just wonderful.”
For Stan Davis, it was time for him to reflect on what the events of the past eight months had meant and for him to put it all in perspective. “I realized
Obama was going to be standing up there, not just giving a speech, but standing, in a lot of ways, as a representation of the real promise of this country going a
long ways to being fulfilled,” Davis said. “I have a hard time reconciling that because we know the Founding Fathers would never had contemplated Barack
Obama being President of the United States. But at the same time, they absolutely contemplated any citizen of the U.S. being able to rise to that level. They
never believed that he would be in that status.”
“So for us and the rest of the world, him standing up there giving that speech speaks volumes to everyone that even after eight years of incredibly
disappointing and regressive and, in my opinion at least, Un-American, unconstitutional governance of this country, in one action, we can look up and say that
this thing is renewed,” Davis continued. “We hit the refresh button and it didn’t take 60 years. It didn’t take 30 years. It didn’t take a military coup or a revolution. It
took people, many of them who never participated in the process before, who said like Barack said in his speech, ‘Enough!’ And standing up and saying that we
believe in this person and during the primaries, ‘Don’t tell us that when he inspires us, he’s just tricking us.’ We’re inspired. Don’t tell us that when he tells us that
we can be better than we are, he’s just being smooth and slick. We believe we can be better than we are. And to me, in a democracy, when you can encourage
an apathetic public not to be apathetic anymore, that is the definition of leadership. In a participatory democracy, if no one is participating, it is a failure. What
he has done by getting young people engaged is the best gift you can give in a democracy.
“The time that I knew something was different about this guy is in October 2006 when he came to Milwaukee to stump for Governor Doyle,” Davis reflected.
“There is something about this guy that has people so hungry for what he is trying to provide and what is so lacking: leadership and inspiration. He is replacing
the cynicism and fear and misdirection that we’ve gotten for the last eight years. Kids are showing up to hear him who wouldn’t be able to vote this year, but they
still were going out of their way to be there. That’s when I knew there was something real different about this guy. They have tried to take rock star and celebrity
and all of those things and turn them into a negative. But the facts still remain that if an American leader can go to Berlin and draw 200,000 people that we
need to be partners with us in almost every endeavor that we take on around the world, you can call that whatever you want. To me, it’s a sign that this is a
person who is going to be able to work with the rest of the world, which we have to have.”
Also before the speech, Davis paid attention to the people seated around him and watched them as the time for Obama’s speech drew near. “Before the
speech even happened, you would start seeing people get emotional all over the place because it was hitting people in different ways at different times in terms
of what they were about to see and what it was going to mean and what it was going to mean for their kids and their grandkids and people who aren’t even on the
planet yet,” Davis said. “That’s the kind of impact that even the nomination is going to have. His presidency would be even more profound.”
As Obama got up to speak, Sen. Lena Taylor had some high expectations for the speech. “The things that I wanted him to talk about were the economy,
those issues that frankly people need to hear some answers on, so that he was addressing the ordinary American, the person whose house was in foreclosure or
close to foreclosure or losing their jobs because the plant is closing,” Taylor said. “I wanted to see him give people hope to believe things can get better. More
importantly, he said something that I thought was most fascinating because it helped me understand because I don’t think I had the complete appreciation until
that day that he inspired us to do it. He reminds us that we have to be the change. Barack said that it wasn’t about him. This is about us, you. Oh my goodness, I
had a fountain of tears by that time. I am the screensaver on You Tube saying ‘Yes We Can’ during his speech. You had people all over the floor chanting ‘Yes
we can. Yes we can.’ It was just very inspirational.”
Al Cooper sat out in the crowd away from the delegates and sat next to an unusual visitor. “I was sitting next to the ambassador from Norway,” Cooper said.
“He was real excited about being there. He said he couldn’t vote, but he was amazed that in America that a Black man was this close to becoming a candidate
for President of the United States. He was there to learn and was excited about the whole process.”
At the end of Obama’s speech, the crowd erupted amidst a shower of confetti and the booming of fireworks overhead. It was a thrilling moment. “At the end
of his speech, there were tears and hugs,” Jackson said. “There was ‘Can you believe we are here at this historic moment 45 years after Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’
speech. In many ways, it was quite surreal.”
While Frances Huntley-Cooper was very excited about Obama giving his acceptance speech, she still held something back in reserve. “I was thinking ‘Don’t
jump the gun Frances,’” Huntley-Cooper said. “We aren’t there yet.’ Of course this is something that I will always be proud to have been part of. And I will be more
excited after November 4 comes around. Anything could happen. So I didn’t want to get too excited. It wasn’t November 4th yet.”
In Taylor’s view, the way that the whole Democratic process was run set a strong foundation for the November 4 election. “Our state had a decrease in
African American representation, but we had an increase in minorities overall, whether it was Asians, Arab Americans, the LGBT community or young people,”
Taylor said. “We had a great number of young people involved in the process, which was wonderful. I think you had a number of people who came back
energized and then after yesterday when Barack appeared in Milwaukee, you had even more people energized to be involved and to make a difference.”
After the fireworks ended and people were shuffling out of the stadium, Davis remained behind. “We stood around and felt like I might not leave after the
speech,” Davis said. “I wanted to stay and drink in that atmosphere. I was exhausted as most people were. We had no idea of how we were getting back.
Eventually a small group of us left and just started walking home. We got about half way there. We were passing stands along the way. I bought three t-shirts and
a poster that is framed in my office at home right now. I kept everything they gave us on Thursday. I was carrying all of that stuff. And we were tired.”
Al Cooper put it all into perspective when he reflected on the historic moment. “I said all along that this was a miracle,” Cooper said. “Even though we’ve
completed only one phase of the process, what Barack has accomplished so far is a miracle. When he won against all of Big Labor, all of the Establishment, all
of the political savvy of a former president and all that political experience, to overcome all of that and raise more money than any other candidate; it was not
just monumental, it was a miracle already. It’s also going to be a miracle to finish the process. People who don’t believe in miracles should take note because a
miracle is taking place right now.”
The next morning, people began to head toward the airport at 5 a.m. The next phase in history was about to begin.vvvvvvv
Second Congressional District’s Democratic caucuses.
They were joined in Denver by Al Cooper, who attended the convention as an observer.
Over the course of four issues of The Capital City Hues, we are reliving the historic Democratic convention through their eyes.
Thursday, August 28
This day was the big conclusion to the convention, the acceptance speech of Barack Obama. The venue had been shifted to Mile High Stadium from the
Pepsi Center to allow over 80,000 people observe the historic event. Most of the delegates got to the stadium by 3 p.m. although Obama’s speech wasn’t slated
to begin until 8 p.m. Mountain time. The intervening hours were filled with speeches and entertainment. For the delegates, the time passed quickly.
“I really didn’t have a frame of reference in terms of what it should be like,” Celia Jackson said. “Probably most of us didn’t because this was the first
acceptance speech in a stadium of that size. Given the extent of the crowd and the whole bit — I sat with the Wisconsin delegation — we were just having a
party of our own while we were waiting for Senator Obama to come out. Between the music, Stevie Wonder and Michael McDonald, and hearing Al Gore come
out and give his rousing speech and his endorsement of Senator Obama, the start of it all with Jennifer Hudson singing the Star Spangled Banner, the evening
just flowed. We were there for six hours and the time went by so quickly. I’m telling you, it was just wonderful.”
For Stan Davis, it was time for him to reflect on what the events of the past eight months had meant and for him to put it all in perspective. “I realized
Obama was going to be standing up there, not just giving a speech, but standing, in a lot of ways, as a representation of the real promise of this country going a
long ways to being fulfilled,” Davis said. “I have a hard time reconciling that because we know the Founding Fathers would never had contemplated Barack
Obama being President of the United States. But at the same time, they absolutely contemplated any citizen of the U.S. being able to rise to that level. They
never believed that he would be in that status.”
“So for us and the rest of the world, him standing up there giving that speech speaks volumes to everyone that even after eight years of incredibly
disappointing and regressive and, in my opinion at least, Un-American, unconstitutional governance of this country, in one action, we can look up and say that
this thing is renewed,” Davis continued. “We hit the refresh button and it didn’t take 60 years. It didn’t take 30 years. It didn’t take a military coup or a revolution. It
took people, many of them who never participated in the process before, who said like Barack said in his speech, ‘Enough!’ And standing up and saying that we
believe in this person and during the primaries, ‘Don’t tell us that when he inspires us, he’s just tricking us.’ We’re inspired. Don’t tell us that when he tells us that
we can be better than we are, he’s just being smooth and slick. We believe we can be better than we are. And to me, in a democracy, when you can encourage
an apathetic public not to be apathetic anymore, that is the definition of leadership. In a participatory democracy, if no one is participating, it is a failure. What
he has done by getting young people engaged is the best gift you can give in a democracy.
“The time that I knew something was different about this guy is in October 2006 when he came to Milwaukee to stump for Governor Doyle,” Davis reflected.
“There is something about this guy that has people so hungry for what he is trying to provide and what is so lacking: leadership and inspiration. He is replacing
the cynicism and fear and misdirection that we’ve gotten for the last eight years. Kids are showing up to hear him who wouldn’t be able to vote this year, but they
still were going out of their way to be there. That’s when I knew there was something real different about this guy. They have tried to take rock star and celebrity
and all of those things and turn them into a negative. But the facts still remain that if an American leader can go to Berlin and draw 200,000 people that we
need to be partners with us in almost every endeavor that we take on around the world, you can call that whatever you want. To me, it’s a sign that this is a
person who is going to be able to work with the rest of the world, which we have to have.”
Also before the speech, Davis paid attention to the people seated around him and watched them as the time for Obama’s speech drew near. “Before the
speech even happened, you would start seeing people get emotional all over the place because it was hitting people in different ways at different times in terms
of what they were about to see and what it was going to mean and what it was going to mean for their kids and their grandkids and people who aren’t even on the
planet yet,” Davis said. “That’s the kind of impact that even the nomination is going to have. His presidency would be even more profound.”
As Obama got up to speak, Sen. Lena Taylor had some high expectations for the speech. “The things that I wanted him to talk about were the economy,
those issues that frankly people need to hear some answers on, so that he was addressing the ordinary American, the person whose house was in foreclosure or
close to foreclosure or losing their jobs because the plant is closing,” Taylor said. “I wanted to see him give people hope to believe things can get better. More
importantly, he said something that I thought was most fascinating because it helped me understand because I don’t think I had the complete appreciation until
that day that he inspired us to do it. He reminds us that we have to be the change. Barack said that it wasn’t about him. This is about us, you. Oh my goodness, I
had a fountain of tears by that time. I am the screensaver on You Tube saying ‘Yes We Can’ during his speech. You had people all over the floor chanting ‘Yes
we can. Yes we can.’ It was just very inspirational.”
Al Cooper sat out in the crowd away from the delegates and sat next to an unusual visitor. “I was sitting next to the ambassador from Norway,” Cooper said.
“He was real excited about being there. He said he couldn’t vote, but he was amazed that in America that a Black man was this close to becoming a candidate
for President of the United States. He was there to learn and was excited about the whole process.”
At the end of Obama’s speech, the crowd erupted amidst a shower of confetti and the booming of fireworks overhead. It was a thrilling moment. “At the end
of his speech, there were tears and hugs,” Jackson said. “There was ‘Can you believe we are here at this historic moment 45 years after Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’
speech. In many ways, it was quite surreal.”
While Frances Huntley-Cooper was very excited about Obama giving his acceptance speech, she still held something back in reserve. “I was thinking ‘Don’t
jump the gun Frances,’” Huntley-Cooper said. “We aren’t there yet.’ Of course this is something that I will always be proud to have been part of. And I will be more
excited after November 4 comes around. Anything could happen. So I didn’t want to get too excited. It wasn’t November 4th yet.”
In Taylor’s view, the way that the whole Democratic process was run set a strong foundation for the November 4 election. “Our state had a decrease in
African American representation, but we had an increase in minorities overall, whether it was Asians, Arab Americans, the LGBT community or young people,”
Taylor said. “We had a great number of young people involved in the process, which was wonderful. I think you had a number of people who came back
energized and then after yesterday when Barack appeared in Milwaukee, you had even more people energized to be involved and to make a difference.”
After the fireworks ended and people were shuffling out of the stadium, Davis remained behind. “We stood around and felt like I might not leave after the
speech,” Davis said. “I wanted to stay and drink in that atmosphere. I was exhausted as most people were. We had no idea of how we were getting back.
Eventually a small group of us left and just started walking home. We got about half way there. We were passing stands along the way. I bought three t-shirts and
a poster that is framed in my office at home right now. I kept everything they gave us on Thursday. I was carrying all of that stuff. And we were tired.”
Al Cooper put it all into perspective when he reflected on the historic moment. “I said all along that this was a miracle,” Cooper said. “Even though we’ve
completed only one phase of the process, what Barack has accomplished so far is a miracle. When he won against all of Big Labor, all of the Establishment, all
of the political savvy of a former president and all that political experience, to overcome all of that and raise more money than any other candidate; it was not
just monumental, it was a miracle already. It’s also going to be a miracle to finish the process. People who don’t believe in miracles should take note because a
miracle is taking place right now.”
The next morning, people began to head toward the airport at 5 a.m. The next phase in history was about to begin.vvvvvvv
Frances Huntley-Cooper (l) and Al Cooper at home
after a full week of the Democratic National
Convention
after a full week of the Democratic National
Convention
| Stan Davis (l-r), State Senator Lena Taylor and Wis. Dept. of Regulation & Licensing Secretary Celia Jackson at Mile High Stadium when Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech. |
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 4 of 4
After U.S. Sen. Barack Obama won the Iowa
caucuses in early January, his supporters began to
realize that that is candidacy was viable and more
than what dreams are made of. A groundswell of
support — particularly in the African American
community — built as Obama won important contests
including the Wisconsin primary on February 19. And
many of his supporters began to make plans to be
there when Obama became the Democratic nominee
at the Democratic National Convention in Denver
August 25-28.
State Sen. Lena Taylor — by virtue of being a
member of the Democratic National Committee —
Part 4 of 4
After U.S. Sen. Barack Obama won the Iowa
caucuses in early January, his supporters began to
realize that that is candidacy was viable and more
than what dreams are made of. A groundswell of
support — particularly in the African American
community — built as Obama won important contests
including the Wisconsin primary on February 19. And
many of his supporters began to make plans to be
there when Obama became the Democratic nominee
at the Democratic National Convention in Denver
August 25-28.
State Sen. Lena Taylor — by virtue of being a
member of the Democratic National Committee —