By Karen Juanita Carrillo

With Barack Obama's election to serve as the 44th president of the United States, celebrations broke out in Harlem, Fort Green, Brooklyn and in various predominately Black neighborhoods across the United States.

But the celebrations that took place beyond U.S. borders may have been even grander. The excitement Afro Latino activists felt can be seen in the emails they sent, in which they spoke about what an Obama presidency means for their communities and their nations:

"Right now, we are celebrating this triumph in all of the African descendant communities of Colombia and I want to congratulate all of you up there for all of the work you did to create this electoral win," said an exultant Jose Luis Rengifo Balanta, who works with an activist organization in Colombia: "Today, for the first time in history, we have a president who embodies all of the dreams of all of the Black people in the world."

The selection is made:  Obama for President.

(Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

"In Quibdò the Afro Colombian capital [of Chocó] we are celebrating hard," noted Jesus Elias Cordoba Valencia. "We are united in our Blackness."

"We Afro Ecuadorians are very confident in the prospects of an Obama presidency, wrote Pepe Chala of the Confederación Nacional Afroecuatoriana (CAN/Afro Ecuadorian National Confederation). "It would mean so much to have Obama serve as president. It would change the negative perception the world has of people of African descent."

"Obama's winning of the presidency is the best thing that could happen to African descendants in Colombia and for those Colombians who have faith in justice," said Ana Castillo. "Because as he said during one of his debates, he would not support the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (USTR) and he would not allow the crimes and massacres that regularly occur in our communities to go on with impunity, as it is currently being allowed under our president, Álvaro Uribe. I also hope that as president Obama will back financial programs and plans that could benefit and further the development of Afro Colombian communities."

Rubén Jean-Baptiste Latorti of the Movimiento Politico Comunitario Dominico-Haitiano (MPCDH/Haitian-Dominican Community Political Movement) said that both Afro Dominicans and Haitian-Dominicans "understand the role [Obama] is playing in these elections, and he has already won the support of our community!"

"November 4, 2008 will be remembered as the day when the practice of institutional racism began to come to an end in the world," wrote Igor Correa Caicedo of the Centro Colombiano de Asistencia Jurídica((AFRONTAR)/ Colombian Center of Legal Assistance). "Every Black person on the planet should recognize this and celebrate this historic fact. This is a national celebration among Afro Colombians and all of those who support Obama. In Cali, there is a caravan...people have taken to their cars and motorcycles...they are honking their horns and shouting: OBAMA!... OBAMA!"

"It's clearly very important and extremely significant to have an African descendant serve as president of the United States. It's a transcendental moment," said author and radio host, Victor Perdomo Fayad, of Venezuela. "From a sentimental point of view, I am happy with this win, because politically it means that new forces and new ideas are pushing away the old establishment in the United States."

"As a person of African descent," wrote Jesús "Chucho" García, a leader in the Red de Organizaciones Afrovenezolanas (Network of Afro-Venezuelan Organizations), "I don't believe in an immediate solidarity with anyone because of their skin pigmentation, especially when that person is the first president of African descent of the United States of the North (not, the United States of America). ...I want him to open dialogues with the nations of South America and the Caribbean who are creating their own destinies and from whom - if he has truly retained the etiquette of a diaspoara African - Obama will have to humbly learn."

Lucas Gil Ibarguen of the Comité Afro Contra La Discriminación Y Xenofobia (Black Committee against Discrimination and Xenophobia) added: "It's important that Obama won, since he is of African descent, but only if he does not follow along the line of invasions and genocides like past U.S. presidents. If he turns out to be like Condoleeza Rice or Colin Powell, he does not deserve our support because then he would be continuing the U.S.'s nefarious history of oppression and militarism."

"This seems to be the best thing that could happen to the United States," said Afro Cuban journalist, author, and broadcaster Pedro Pérez-Sarduy. "To have a president who is cultured, intelligent, and talented - and not arrogant or a fanatic; who has a close tie to his African roots - in a nation that suffered slavery. Ultimately, with Obama our people's hopes will be so great that it's certain we will be able to throw aside the history of bigotry that has reigned over relations between the U.S. and Cuba. This will benefit both of our countries, not only us Cubans."

"By the mere fact of his winning the presidency, Obama has done a great service to Black people in the Americas," said Zulia Mena García, who served as the first Colombian congressional representative specifically elected to protect the interests of Afro-Colombians. "His victory is a very important sign and it will lift our morale. It validates all of the struggles that we have had for our dignity and for our civil rights throughout the world; it says: 'Si, se puede - Yes, we can win these battles.'"

Carlos Rua Angulo, the director of the Bogotá, Colombia-based Ecotambor School of Leadership Formation, suggested that with Obama's election "some things are going to change simultaneously: Mostly, it will be things that favor communities in the United States but there will also be changes that will benefit those communities that have borne the weight of policies that promoted U.S. military supremacy. These policies were lethal on our communities and they are directly responsible for some 170 million poor people. Of course, Obama won't be able to immediately change this situation but what's wonderful is to know that he can gradually make the changes that will put an end to these inequalities."

Dr Jorge Ramirez Reyna, president of the Lima, Peru-based Asociación Negra de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (ASONEDH/Black Association for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights) wrote an article in which he called Obama "someone that every person of African descent has taken pride in. He has demonstrated that even though we have suffered slavery, oppression and racism we continue making history. ...November 4, 2008 is a historic day. Today is the beginning of a new era for African descendants, today the whole world is looking to us and today we are so much more prouder of our history, of our race and of our belief that a Black man can be president of the most important and most powerful country in the world. Today our ancestors our celebrating, because a son of Africa has fortified the hope of all of our people in the world. Today every African descendant believes and understands that we can change history - and today the African American Senator Barack Obama has changed the world."