As more than 38 million television viewers watched Barack Obama become the first black presidential nominee of a major party, Cid Wilson was on the field as a state delegate in the Denver football stadium Aug. 28.
"It was a very magical and emotional experience," Wilson said.
The borough resident was one of a few Afro-Latino delegates in the country, he said. He is involved locally with different organizations, including the committee for Leonia’s first National Night Out this past summer.
"Growing up you’re always hearing that anything is possible," Wilson, a Wall Street financial analyst, said.
After seeing other black candidates run for president, he said it’s great to see the Democratic Party uniting behind Obama.
"During roll call, New Jersey and New Hampshire were the only two unanimous states for Obama," he said. "All the delegates chose to show unity."
The crowd went crazy when New Jersey’s votes were announced, Wilson said.
"I was on the field and every once in a while I looked up in the stands and connected to the crowd," he said. "To see the people so emotional, so alive, it was incredible to be a part of that."
On the field Wilson bonded with other delegates and dignitaries. He consoled a Paterson assemblywoman who was crying as Obama accepted the nomination.
"I told her, ‘It’s ok to cry because our time has come,’" he said.
Wilson also spoke with Martin Luther King III, son of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He previously met King III at the White House in 2006 after Wilson advocated in Congress to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"It was still as magical as meeting [King III] the first time," he said. "I felt like I was touching history."
Wilson said he was born after the March on Washington in 1963 when King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
"But it felt like I was there [again at the convention] because that [march] led to this opportunity," he said. "Me and the other 84,000 [people in the stadium] will look back years from now and say we were there when Barack Obama became the official Democratic nominee for president of the United States of America."
