November 7, 2020: Redemption Day
November 7, 2020: Redemption Day
I took some photographs yesterday right after Joe Biden was elected president. Just as I did in November 2008, when Obama won his first term as president, I knew people would congregate around the corner of 125th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Avenue where the statue of Adam Clayton stands. This corner is known to most as ''The Crossroads of Black America.'' It was very hard to celebrate there after this election due to COVID-19, and I did not want to get close to anybody, but I was determined not to miss this historic moment!
This is one of my favorite photographs that I took yesterday. It captures an intimate emotional moment as a couple publicly shares a loving and tender embrace. It felt like time stopped as everyone froze to feel the couple’s emotional moment. I was crying when I took the photo because I myself had felt completely alone before the event, but the couple’s embrace made me feel a sense of togetherness as a result of the election. I particularly felt a sense of togetherness between women. Over the past four years, WOMEN endured a lot, which I saw first-hand as my own mother suffered under and endured the presidential administration. Black Women especially, with the help of all other women, pulled together and saved this election: 100 years after women gained the right to vote, women have elected the first WOMAN, Kamala Harris, as Vice President, who notably is also the first WOMAN of Color (Black and Asian) to be elected for the role. As we celebrated this historic moment on the corner of 125th and Adam Clayton Powell, the many children present were completely aware of and overjoyed about the moment in history they were celebrating and its significance, no matter how young they were. Given that children are the future, it was amazing to see their incredibly positive reaction to an event that will surely shape the future of this country. And while the children’s reactions were thrilling, photographing those reactions was priceless!
Photos and essay by Ruben Mantel-San Miguel
'' Victory Embrace '' ( Love is Love -Biden / Kamala 2020 ) 125th Street Harlem USA , NYC. Saturday November 7, 2020. 2:18PM ( 72 Degrees ) . © Ruben Natal-San Miguel ©.All Rights Reserved.
