There were Trump supporters too, but predominantly, the crowds in Philly were cheering after Joe Biden was projected to win the presidency. NBC10’s Jim Rosenfield reports.
Several streets in Philadelphia were inaccessible to cars Saturday as people flocked outdoors, many cheering, after news outlets called Pennsylvania - and thus, the presidential race - for Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Since late in the morning, there were car horns, clapping and banging on pots and pans after the race was called.
As the city took to the streets, motorists were warned about traffic.
For those on the streets, it was a time to celebrate.
"I think the last four years have really been filled with a lot of division," said Raven Jordan, who went down to the gatherings at Independence Mall.
"They have been filled with a lot of uncertainties and fear, honestly. And it's just been really sad ... I know a lot of my friends have been scared because they are members of the LGBTQ community, they are scared of their rights being taken away. As a woman I was scared, I was scared of my rights being taken away. It's just been a lot of fear."
"I am excited. I am really hoping this will be a new era," Jordan said. "An era of black people and women being in all the places they should be."
Despite the celebrations on one side, President Donald Trump and supporters have vowed a legal fight over the results. Keeping with that message Saturday, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani spoke to supporters at a landscaping company in Northeast Philadelphia. He urged the public to let the campaign's several election-related cases move through the courts.
Also, the Four Seasons Hotel in Philly had to clarify that Giuliani was not speaking at their hotel:
Numerous legal experts have said that with Biden's margins in several states, the court cases are unlikely to flip the result in Trump's favor. And in multiple states, elections officials and law enforcement have reported no evidence of fraud that the campaign has claimed.
Areas around City Hall and the Pennsylvania Convention Center - where the vote count is still being completed - were full of people holding "count every vote" signs, along with a large eagle, an inflatable Trump doll and multiple representations of the Flyers' mascot Gritty.
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This is par for the Philly course, by the way. As the vote count went on at the convention center, there were dueling protests - with Trump supporters on one side of a barricade and an all-out, hourslong dance party on the other. And as the nation continues to watch Philadelphia, who knows what else will surprise them.
