In Raleigh, one protest turns into a party while a second echoes claims of fraud
On her way into downtown Raleigh, Wanda Coker got the news: Joe Biden had been named the president-elect by multiple media outlets.
“I just started screaming,” said Coker, 53, of Fayetteville. “Democracy has taken over and it’s a wonderful thing.”
Coker was one of several organizers of Saturday’s “We Protect Democracy” rally in downtown Raleigh.
As Biden was unofficially declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, downtown Raleigh turned into a dance party. Cars honked their horns as they drove through the city. A few hundred people danced in the grass on Halifax Mall as music emanated from speakers.
“If you can’t dance, you can bounce,” one speaker said into the mic.
Similar celebrations took place in downtown Durham and Carrboro, where people took to the streets to cheer, honk horns and wave signs.
“I was elated — I am elated,” said Coleen Holden of Raleigh, of Biden’s apparent victory. “He’s worked with Democrats and Republicans. He’s not just for himself or his party. He’s definitely for the people.”
The Raleigh event had been organized before Biden was declared the winner, organized by multiple North Carolina voting rights and social justice groups. In the last few days, the counting of mail-in absentee votes had turned the election, as Biden had encouraged people to vote by mail due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I feel absolutely ecstatic about the election results, because the implications are huge,” said Carlos Zamora, an organizer from Charlotte with the Latino advocacy group Mijente.
“We have immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights and women’s rights on the line. And at the base we have our democracy on the line, which has been under attack by this administration.”
From Alamance to Raleigh
Al McArthur and his family were eating a late breakfast when news organizations made the call. They stopped for a moment, McArthur said, then started playing music. They hopped in a car and drove from Alamance County to downtown Raleigh.
“We had to be with some like-minded people,” said McArthur, a teacher in Alamance, where one week ago a March to the polls in Graham ended in tear gas and arrests. “It’s been a hard week but it’s like a fog has lifted.”
McArthur said he supported Biden because of his experience and his values.
“I’m happy to have a president that I can sit down with my kids and watch the news and not worry about what he’s going to say,” McArthur said. “It’s hard for lots of Americans, especially in the South, to know what it’s like being a Black male. This isn’t the end, but it’s a step in the right direction; I don’t have to worry that the president won’t denounce white supremacists.”
Trump supporters echo the president’s allegations
One block over, about 300 supporters of President Donald Trump gathered. Cued by Trump, those gathered outside the NC legislative building questioned the legitimacy of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania.
“It’s so important that you don’t give up, just because the (Associated Press) called the race,” said John Warren of Lee County to the crowd.
A caravan of at least 15 cars supporting Trump drove around downtown Raleigh and circled the Capitol and other blocks, with Trump flags and signs that read “Stop the steal” and “Election fraud is illegal.”
A few Biden supporters yelled “Biden won the election” from the sidewalk at the passing cars.
Another group of people, some carrying American flags, marched around downtown and near the governor’s mansion.
Marching with a Trump flag that said “Make America Great Again” with his family, John Warren of Lee County said, “We’re not asking for Trump to win if he didn’t win, we’re just asking for the election process to be respected before people say Biden’s president.”
“In order for us to have a peaceful transition there has to be transparency. There’s at worst fraud and at best, incompetence,” Warren said, repeating claims Trump has made for which there is no evidence.
Warren, a Latino supporter of the president of Uruguayan background, said he disagreed with the legitimacy of the results due to irregularities with elections he said he’s seen in the news.
“The fact that the media came out and said Biden is the president — the media can’t do that until the process is finished,” he said.
Dallas Woodhouse, former executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, took a different position in a conciliatory tweet Saturday.
“I did not vote for (Joe Biden) nor do I support most of his polices,” Woodhouse wrote. “However, I believe he is the duly elected President-elect of the United States. I wish noting but the best for him in leading our country. He and Jill will be in my prayers.”
From Guilford to Raleigh
Kay Brown of social justice group Guilford for All drove from Guilford County to Raleigh for the NC Democracy rally. She said the days of counting ballots and waiting for a winner haven’t defused the tension from the election.
“It’s been the longest, most stressful week ever,” Brown said. “For us to say we have respect on the ballot, to say we have democracy on the ballot, to say this is a fight against hatred and then have the election go on for days....”
Brown noted that Trump’s voters came out in support of the president in even greater numbers than in 2016, a sign she found worrying.
“It’s by sheer numbers not persuasion that we have a new president,” Brown said. “And that’s actually kind of scary. How many Americans don’t like me just because I’m Black and existing?”
Dance party in Durham
In Durham, at least 100 Biden supporters gathered at Corcoran and Main streets downtown. Some danced in the street while cars drove by and honked horns. People waved flags from their car windows and banged pans.
Tammie Hall, 55, said she felt “pure joy and excitement” about Biden and Harris winning. The results of the election mattered to her personally, she said.
“My son matters. My Black son matters,” she said.
“I’ve been waiting for this for four years,” said Kasey Pressley, 27, with a red, white, and blue flag draped around her like a cape. “This is a return to the values I believe our country represents.”
“I’m a Bernie guy, so like, I’m happy Trump’s defeated,” said 27-year old Matthew Navey. “I can’t be so happy about Biden, but I mean, I’m pretty happy.”
“It could be a lot better. We could have a blue Senate. We could have more people in the House,” he added. “But for what it’s worth, this is a victory.”
News & Observer reporter Charlie Innis contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 1:59 PM.
