I wasn’t born yet when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, but I do remember where I was when the Challenger space shuttle exploded or when planes slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001 or when then-Sen. Barack Obama was officially elected the 44th president of the United States of America.
On Election Night ‘08, I was working as an online producer at a Nashville television station. A few weeks earlier, Obama and McCain appeared in Music City for one of a handful of presidential debates held around the country. As an online producer, I was charged with writing stories, taking and editing pictures and video and posting all of them before, during and after four nightly newscasts. On Election Night, everything moved more quickly and thankfully I worked alongside dear friend and skilled colleague Angela Gardenhire.
As the election returns came in – Ohio, the Carolinas, the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) then the polls across the Midwest and finally the West Coast, people started calling the newsroom. Angela and I hurriedly monitored blog posts and filed updates along with our usual tasks. But, at one point, after ABC anchor Charlie Gibson called the election for Obama, I stopped. I excused myself and went into a conference room and cried. When I returned to my desk among the people who called me was my mother. Initially I didn’t recognize her voice, but the caller ID confirmed the source. She was crying, saying she wished my grandfather was alive to witness this feat. She also said she wasn’t sure months ago if she’d ever see this day, but she was glad for it. I added that I was very proud of fellow Americans who stepped away from fear to elect the nation’s first black president.
Last night, HBO aired a documentary produced by actor Edward Norton that provided behind-the-scenes access to the Obama campaign. I enjoyed reliving Election Night as well as learning about how the campaign affected staff and volunteers.
