Our generation is the most apathetic ever, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is the world Mecca of indifference.

Or so I'd been told.

But last night after Obama's speech, the young people streaming out of election watch parties in my neighborhood didn't return home to their lonely loft apartments for a cigarette.  They ran top speed to Bedford Avenue, where a crowd of hundreds quickly formed.  A car parked in the middle of the street and began blasting music, while it's owners, all of different races, danced atop it shouting "We're all one!" My friends and I broke into a chorus of the Star Spangled Banner and the whole mob joined us. A drum circle formed, replete with bongos and congas, cowbells, and bagpipes, and I was picked up and tossed in the air as cries of "Yes we Can!" mixed with "Si Se Puede!" A cop car pulled up and the crowd tensed, until the two young African-American women officers that emerged began accepting hugs from all of us. Then, with cries of "to the park!" we paraded up Bedford, dancing madly and picking up stragglers until we reached the wide green field of McCarren Park to continue the party.

Our generation was never indifferent; we were sad. So many of us came to political awareness when the 2000 election sent us the message that "It's not going to be fair, and you can't win".  No more.  We can, and we did.

But back to Bedford Avenue. By around 2 AM, a different set of cops had showed up, and they weren't there to join the celebration.  They had decided that it was time for the crowd to break up, and we watched with growing disbelief as people who were a little slow to get to the sidewalk or who were simply trying to cross the street to go home were hit hard in the face with batons.  We left then, not wanting the memory of this epic night to be tainted by a confrontation with the police. 

I'm glad I was there to see what happened, though, because it reinforced for us all that while today may be a day for celebration, our work is not even close to done. Police brutality in our city is only one of the many injustices which we must now dedicate ourselves to ending in the next four years and beyond. Having a real government in office means the change we need can happen, but not if we sit back and wait for Barack Obama to do it for us.

So let's get to work, Brooklyn. Let's think about why, as wonderful as the unity we displayed last night was, the beautiful streets and apartments around Bedford Avenue are mostly reserved for the white and privileged.  Let's tell the next administration that we demand a just and sustainable economy by creating one in our neighborhoods NOW.  Let's end rampant and destructive development, create green jobs, and implement sustainable energy practices.  I'm ready to rebuild this country brick by brick, and I'm going to start right here in my beloved Brooklyn. Are you with me?

Yes, we can. Now, we must.