‘Hope for the future:’ Biden voters dance, cheer in celebration at the Plaza
Kansas City area residents gathered Saturday to dance, cheer and breathe a sigh of relief hours after the Associated Press and other news outlets determined Joe Biden was the projected winner of the 2020 election.
A small group of Biden supporters and volunteers gathered around 1 p.m. for a car parade starting near the 18th and Vine District and driving through the Country Club Plaza.
Sharon Sanders Brooks, like Kamala Harris a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, held a letter written in 1913 by one of the sorority’s movements asking to be included in the women’s suffrage parade.
The organizers of the parade never responded and so the sorority of Black women did not participate. Now a member of the sorority will be the first female vice president in American history.
“This election means so much to me. I think of all the work that went into it up to this point,” Brooks said as she reflected on her mother’s struggle to register to vote as a Black woman in Virginia.
“I was on a mission to do all that I could here in Kansas City to make sure people were registered to vote, got out to vote.”
This year, she said, “shows that every vote counts.”
By the time Brooks and the other participants in the car parade arrived at the Plaza, dozens of people were already there. The crowd — ranging in age from children to 85-year-olds — danced, cheered and jumped up and down as cars drove by.
When three Trump supporters arrived at the Plaza, Biden supporters attempted to block the view of their signs with their own banners. The supporters left shortly after a Biden supporter confronted them.
People draped themselves with Biden and Harris and LGBT pride flags. One woman wore a wedding dress because she said she’d had nothing to celebrate in so long.
Car passengers hung out of windows and raised their arms in victory as they drove past. The occasional “dump Trump” chant broke out.
Jordan Miller, a 19-year-old Black Hispanic woman, said she came to the Plaza in relief that Trump would be out of office. She said she didn’t support the president’s positions regarding the Black Lives Matter movement or his statements implying that immigrants from Mexico were rapists and murderers.
“I feel more hope for the future,” Miller, a first-time voter, said. “I kept wondering: What would happen if he got reelected. What would the world think?”
Becca Preisendorf, 27, said that after a summer of protest, it felt good to have something to celebrate.
Though she said there was further to go and Biden may need to be pushed on some issues, the election results are a step toward progress.
“It’s a big step to have someone with empathy in office,” Preisendorf said. “I haven’t felt this much celebration and solidarity in a long time. All the protests we’ve been going to have been in reaction to tragedy.”
A few feet back from the crowd, Len and Kitty Bronec, each 85, watched and said they were relieved and hoped Biden could bring unity to the country.
“It just fills me with joy,” Kitty Bronec said while watching the crowd of young people.
Later that afternoon, Mazen Mansour, 25, stood watching the crowd cheer. He called the win for Biden and Harris “one positive thing this year.” He said having Harris elected to be vice president is an example of how great the country is.
“Today is a great example of what democracy is and what this country stands for,” Mansour said.
The Star’s Cortlynn Stark contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
