The camera platform, post-speech.
If you were not standing on the platform with the press, you would have missed one particular moment that seemed to cement the fact this the the night at Invesco Field was a real point on history that was important beyond its significance to Black history. It seemed to be a moment that all American was looking for.
That particular moment was the final prayer after the speech and fireworks subsided. There was a prayer at the end of every convention session during the week, and without exception the press used the announcement of the prayer as a signal to bolt out of the room and get back to work, or to the martini bar, whichever was closest.
This night, however, was remarkably different. When the it was time to bow heads, everybody bowed, including the press. I’m only two steps from a heathen, but there was God in that moment, and even the most jaded people seemed to recognize it. It was clear symbol that for Blacks, Whites Hispanics and Asians, race and ethnicity has been a burden that people are desperate to lift from their shoulders. And at least for the rest of the night, people acted as if it had been lifted.