The streetlights were still illuminated as voters set up to begin their vigil outside Public School 34 in Queens Village early on Election Day morning. Some people like John Pruitt and his daughter Rhoda, a first time voter, had brought along folding chairs in anticipation of a long wait.
Shortly after 6 a.m., the line along the school’s concrete and cast iron fence had wrapped around the block and on to Hollis Avenue. A maroon Toyota Camry zoomed past on Springfield Boulevard and the driver yelled out,” Vote Obama,” prompting laughter from waiting crowd. But the Pruitts had already decided that Obama would get their vote.
‘Historic Moment’
“I never had anyone I was interested in before,” said Rhoda, shrugging.
“This is a historic moment,” said John, a one-time doo-wop record producer. “To see a black man reach such a high position is monumental beyond anything I have seen.”
According to the New York State Board of Elections, more than 4 million people in New York City are registered to vote, and approximately 1 million in Queens. Voters around the city endured long Election Day lines.
Gary Klint, a Queens Village resident, was accompanied to the polls by his 6-year-old son, Justin. “He wanted to know what it was like to vote after learning about it in school,” said Klint.
Calls For Faith
Dressed in gray and clutching a black rosary, Sister Marie Anne was one of six nuns from St. Ann’s Novitiate convent making their way to vote. “It’s going to be a challenge for whoever is in the White House,” she said.
Despite the challenges that face the new president, the Pruitt family placed their faith in Obama.
“I will be shocked,” said Rhoda of a possible McCain win. “I expect chaos in the streets; emotional outpour, humiliation and hopelessness for people of color.”
Her father disagreed: “Older blacks won’t feel that way, they seen the process,” he said. “They don’t have optimism in the system like younger people.”
