(Left to right) Kai Reynolds, Maurice Nichols and Kohei Shimamoto wave sparkers in the air on Castro Street to celebrate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ election victory on Nov. 7, 2020. (Emily Curiel / Golden Gate Xpress) (Emily Curiel)
(Left to right) Kai Reynolds, Maurice Nichols and Kohei Shimamoto wave sparkers in the air on Castro Street to celebrate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ election victory on Nov. 7, 2020. (Emily Curiel / Golden Gate Xpress)

Emily Curiel

The Castro celebrates Joe Biden’s presidential win (Photo Gallery)

November 8, 2020

The world was ablaze with celebration yesterday as Joe Biden was announced as the projected winner of the 2020 presidential race. The Castro District was no exception to the global celebration, as people took to the streets to express their support for the Biden win.

Bay Area residents took to the streets in the Castro District to celebrate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ election victory on Nov. 7, 2020. (Emily Curiel / Golden Gate Xpress) (Emily Curiel)

“I woke up to the sound of vuvuzelas in the morning from my neighbors above me,” Zach Strohmeyer said, a Castro resident. “I just felt a deep sense of relief in a way that I haven’t really felt in the last four years.”

Harris, now the vice president-elect, made history as the U.S.’ first woman, South Asian and African American to be elected to the second highest position of authority in the U.S. government in its history. 

Raj Singh, a South Asian American present at the Castro’s celebration, said he used the Biden campaign’s success as an illustrative example to teach his kids a lesson about democracy, equality and diversity. 

“We just feel that diversity is the strength, and that’s why we love America,” Singh said. “It just didn’t feel right under President Trump. So we are very happy with the results.”

As cities across the U.S. take  to the streets to demonstrate their support concerns surrounding COVID-19 remain in the minds of participants. With COVID-19 cases reaching an all-time high of 120,000 new infections for a second day on Friday. 

“The gathering definitely makes me feel pretty anxious,” Cynthia Peppercorn said. “I haven’t been around this many people in one place since the pandemic started.” 

The Bay Area reported nearly 3,800 new cases in the last week of October, up 34% from 2,800 cases the week prior. While the city’s COVID-19 cases remain low, Mayor London Breed has halted reopening plans as a form of preventative action.

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About the Contributors
Photo of Emily Curiel
Emily Curiel
Emily lives life through a viewfinder. She has a hummingbird superstition and spends most of her down time playing the mobile app game called Two Dots, she’s sort of obsessed. She eats a lot of hamburgers and pets a lot of animals when she can. She’s a sucker for museums, sports, chocolate and anything artsy that’s hands on.

Her career goal, to put it simple, as the great Warren Buffett said, is to find a job that she loves so she doesn’t have to work a day in her life. She wants to be a great photojournalist, who is well-paid, so she may be able to live comfortably with good health insurance. Emily wants to be able to enlighten society in a more positive way through her photographs and storytelling. Dorothea Lange once said, “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” This is what Emily wants to embody and hopes she can do so in the field of journalism. You can find more of her work here.

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