Photos by Jahlil Rush and Francely Flores
Article by Yasmeen Persaud and Jahlil Rush
After days of suspense and anxiety, New Yorkers filled the streets to celebrate the election of Joe Biden as the new President-elect.
Since this morning’s announcement, celebrations broke out across the city. D&S spoke to some people who gathered in the Manhattan neighborhoods of Times Square and Greenwich Village, and in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park and Fort Greene.
Kaitlyn Harris, 19, and Javaris Rhodie, 18, both students at the American Musical Dramatic Academy, voted for Biden.
“As a Black queer actress, it feels good to be represented and to see someone who looks like me,” Harris said, referring to Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris. “It feels good to see the city come together, especially after the last four years.”
New York University student Grace Zhu, 19, said she was happy that Biden gathered support among different age groups. “Young people can only do so much. It’s important we are engaged. But a lot of the voters are older too,” she said.
Senator Kamala Harris is the first Black and South Asian woman to be elected as Vice President. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo congratulated her on social media. “After 230 years — you shattered two ceilings, A truly historic achievement,” he wrote in a tweet.
Biden spoke to voters in his pinned tweet, writing, “The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a president for all Americans—whether you voted for me or not.” One of his priorities will be to announce a COVID-19 task force.
For Community School Director Dedunu Sylvia, 31, there is still a lot of work to be done.
“It’s a really exciting time. We still have to hold [Biden and Harris] accountable. But what we are gonna do is keep organizing. I also want to express gratitude to Black organizers everywhere who got out and voted,” she said.
