History in the Making

Senator Barack Obama and his running mate, Senator Joseph Biden, came to Greensboro on a cool, misty Saturday in late September. They were met by upwards of 15,000 people, packing the street in front of the restored Southern Railway Station. The presidential election was six weeks away.

The reception given Obama in this city is representative of the transformation of American society in the last half-century. Inside the station, now a multimodal passenger depot, are signs noting what formerly were separate waiting rooms for White and "Colored" patrons. A few blocks away is the former Woolworth's store and its lunch counter, scene of the famous Sit-Ins of 1960. That building soon will be the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

After Obama spoke and stepped off the stage, the crowd started to depart. Only those closest to the candidate realized he was at ground level, shaking hands and signing autographs.

As he worked the crowd, teenage girls nearby called out, "Obama! We love you! Thank God for your brains!"

On November 4, Barack Obama won the state of North Carolina by about 14,900 votes out of more than 4.2 million cast. It was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate had carried the state since Jimmy Carter's victory in 1976.

USA-Canada / USA-North Carolina

Lat: 36° 4' 20" N
Long: 80° 48' 22" W

Elevation: 256 meters / 840 feet

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Unknown / Undeclared.

8 mm Sigma, Nikon D300, BoBracket, monopod. Zoom H4 digital recorder. Photoshop CS3, PTGui, CubicConverter, MacBook Pro.