If you live in the New York City area and want to spend Tuesday night in an atmosphere of solidarity watching the results come in and celebrating the historic election of the first African American president*, the places to be are the Schomburg Library or outside the Harlem State Office Building at 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. The Schomburg event will include live TV coverage, a book signing, an exhibition on African Americans and politics, food and drink; I've heard there's a $10 charge. The crowds gathered outside on 125th Street will watch the returns live on a Jumbotron screen for free.
(*Unless the racist forces in key cities and states do their dirty tricks to steal the election, in which case these will still be the places to be, in solidarity and outrage. But today's theme is optimism. Tuesday night will be a historic moment in the struggle against racism, a moment of hope for the millions upon millions who have been disenfranchised for so long. An Obama victory is not a revolutionary development, not in any way, but it will reflect a new level of multinational unity in the working class, a new solidarity, and that is something to celebrate.)
