After four days of uncertainty, Los Angeles woke up Saturday morning to a frenzy of car horns and cheers, as people all over the city celebrated the news of former Vice President Joe Biden’s projected presidential victory.
Biden, now President-elect, is expected to replace incumbent Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2021, as the 46th president of the United States. His running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, is the first ever Black, South Asian and female Vice President-elect.
The Associated Press called the race early Saturday morning after Biden took the lead in Pennsylvania, clenching the election with 273 electoral college votes. Though ballots are still being tallied across the country, thousands of Angelenos took to the streets after the AP’s projection, honking their horns along Sunset Blvd. and dancing in the streets of West Hollywood.
“I actually woke up to sounds of yelling … so I immediately opened my laptop to check MSNBC, and I just started crying,'” said Tata Vivas, a senior majoring in theater and narrative studies. “My whole house woke up and watched the news together… we all just celebrated.”
After tuning in to several breaking news broadcasts, Vivas and her housemates went on a quick coffee run, not knowing it would turn into a morning of festivities.
“We actually happened upon a celebration in Silver Lake … we just kind of were walking down the street … and then we saw music and dancing and we just joined along,” Vivas said. “It was truly the most beautiful thing … to see actual joy just being expressed so viscerally and so freely in the streets.”
Sarah Cortina, a sophomore majoring in psychology, also found herself among the crowds in Silver Lake, describing the festivities as “super happy and super celebratory.”
“There was probably a few hundred people just scattered down the road… hold[ing] signs that said things like ‘love wins’ or just waving pride flags — just all these anti-Trump, pro-Biden things,” Cortina said. “People were playing drums… people were dancing and people were popping champagne and just screaming and going crazy. Everyone was just so happy.”
Celebrations in downtown L.A. took a similar tone, with hundreds of participants chanting, singing and parading through the streets. Joanna Yang, a senior majoring in business administration, marched along and said the overall atmosphere was one of happiness and “relief.”
“I felt like I was there for history,” Yang said. “Parades and celebrations happen all the time, but to see so many people like truly happy and crying and just relieved… it was good.”
Although thousands of people flocked to Silver Lake, downtown and elsewhere, all three students recalled strict adherence to coronavirus mask regulations.
“Every single person was wearing a mask,” Cortina said. “I didn’t see one person that didn’t have a mask on.”
Regardless, other Angelenos opted to respond in the safety of their homes. Rachel Lee, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, said her celebrations took the form of an Instagram post and text messages with the confetti effect. Ayeshna Desai, a senior majoring in human sciences, spent the day watching the news and cheering with her roommate.
“My immediate reaction was just extreme joy,” Desai said. “I was so incredibly happy and relieved to know that [Biden] had won, to know that our country will be able to push forward in the right direction in terms of everything related to Covid, related to climate change, related to immigration.”
Many students expressed a similar joy, relief and excitement at the election of the Biden-Harris administration, which Vivas said brought a much-needed “catharsis” to the country. However, they also agreed this victory should be a starting point rather than the finish line.
“It was really relieving to feel like there is hope, but [there’s] also so much work to be done,” Vivas said. “I’m glad we had that moment to celebrate… but now… it’s just about continuing to fight the fight… It’s not over, and we still have to keep pushing forward.”