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It might not have been Denver, but it was just as raucous and emotional Thursday inside a Silver Spring movie theater, where more than 100 people gathered to watch the Democratic National Convention and see U.S. Sen. Barack Obama accept his party's presidential nomination.
The convention watch party, sponsored by the Montgomery County Young Democrats and held at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre, capitalized on the symbolism of Obama's nomination coming exactly 45 years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
"We have grown men that are crying tears of joy because we never thought America would accept us for the type of character and abilities associated with the highest position in the land," said Silver Spring resident Sarah Jean Davidson Thursday night. "I never thought this would happen in my lifetime."
Davidson attended King's speech in 1963, which followed the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. She was 14 years old at the time and had organized a small group of students from her "blacks only" school in North Little Rock, Ark., to attend the historic event.
She said the inspiration from that speech led her to a life of public service. Davidson is the co-founder of the National Federation of Black Women Business Owners and has spoke before Congress to argue for recognition of the slaves who helped build the U.S. Capitol.
Kendra Seto of Columbia also drew a connection between Obama's nomination and King's speech, in which the Civil Rights leader said the thousands of African Americans who had gathered that day at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., were there to "cash a check" that America's forefathers had written. The check was "a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
As she watched King's speech on the movie screen, just minutes before Obama would accept the nomination, she said she knew things had come full circle for blacks in the United States.
"We're cashing that check tonight," Seto said through tears. "I've had grandparents and relatives who never thought they would live to see this."
The Young Democrats rented out a theater at AFI for the convention, where attendees could mingle in the lobby and then watch the convention on a movie screen. In a move befitting of the difference in King and Obama's eras, King's speech was played on the big screen from a YouTube clip on a laptop connected to the projector.
Cecily Patterson of Washington, D.C., who watched King's speech on television when she was 10 years old, said she could see similarities between King and Obama's ideals and ability to energize people, but Obama's rise would not be possible without King.
"I'm not trying to compare them because they came from different times and very different environments," Patterson said. "King paved the way as did the people who died and fought for our rights."
During Obama's speech, the crowd acted as though they were among the 84,000 at Invesco Field in Denver, applauding frequently and standing when he hit a powerful point. At the end of the speech, attendees remained in the theater standing and clapping for several minutes.
Earlier in the evening, the almost exclusively Democratic crowd predictably hooted and hollered for speeches by former Vice President Al Gore and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. (D). But even testimonials from people like Monica Early, "the insurance agent from Cuyahoga, Ohio," got applause, laughs and, yes, a standing ovation from the AFI Theatre crowd.
It was the first watching party the Young Democrats have held, a testament to Obama's ability to energize young voters, said Sarah Holstine, president of the organization.
"For two or three elections, we have been saying it's the year of the youth," Holstine said. "In 2004, there was excitement, but this is something I have never seen."
The county's Young Democrats organization has about 100 members between ages 18 and 36 – several of whom traveled to Denver for the convention – and more than 1,000 on its listserv. Holstine said the organization will help with Obama's campaign in Northern Virginia and Maryland's First and Sixth Congressional Districts.
Holstine and other Democrats on hand said the primary between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has not fractured the Democratic party and that Maryland Democrats are united behind Obama.
"The talks in the media are desperately trying to find [a rift in the party]," said Del. Kirill Reznick (D-Dist. 39) of Germantown. "It's truly, ‘I want this candidate,' rather than, ‘I don't like that one.'"
Representatives from Teenage Democrats of Maryland were also on hand to sell Obama buttons and bumper stickers, with proceeds going toward his campaign. Justin Shugarman, a student at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac and the co-chairman of Teenage Democrats, said Obama's energy and positive message is inspiring people who aren't even old enough to vote.
"I love the stories of someone starting off with nothing, that's the American dream," Shugarman, 17, said of Obama's background. "This feels like I'm part of something big."
For Seto, she knows Obama's nomination is "something big," not just for African-American history, but for anyone who wants to practice with Obama preaches: hope.
"There is nothing you cannot do in this country," she said.
