They danced in the streets, wept, lifted their voices in prayer and brought traffic to a standstill. From the nation's capital to Los Angeles, Americans celebrated Barack Obama's victory and marveled that they lived to see the day that a black man was elected president.

"I was born in the civil rights time. To see this happening is unbelievable. We've got the first black president. A black president!" said Mike Louis, a 53-year-old black man who got teary-eyed as he watched the election results on a giant video board in Cincinnati's Fountain Square. "It's not cured now, but this is a step to curing this country of racism. This is a big, giant step toward getting this country together."

In Washington, hundreds of residents spilled into the streets near the White House, carrying balloons, banging on drums and chanting, "Bush is gone!" Along U Street, once known as America's Black Broadway for its many thriving black-owned shops and theaters, men stood on car roofs, waving American flags and Obama posters.

Nearby, at historically black Howard University, hundreds of students erupted in cheers, broke into song and chanted, "Yes, we did!"

In Philadelphia, thousands of blacks and whites converged at City Hall shortly after Obama was declared the winner. Under a light rain, they danced to the music blaring from car radios. Drivers stopped in the middle of the street, opened their car doors and broadcast Obama's acceptance speech.

"Barack is in the house!" shouted Pamela Williams, 46. "This is very important to me. Change is about to happen."

At Sadiki's restaurant in Philadelphia, the celebration poured out onto the sidewalk.

"Our parents left this planet thinking that we would never, ever see this day, when an African-American could be elected by all the people to the highest seat in the land," said Bernard Smalley Sr. His wife, Jacquelyn, wept.

The celebrations were both large big and small, but the sentiment was the same — pure joy over how far the country has come. People honked horns, high-fived each other and embraced.

In Harlem, the roar of thousands of people gathered in a plaza near the legendary Apollo Theater could be heard blocks away.

In Cleveland, supporters gathered at a house party and held champagne flutes above their heads for a toast. "To the first African-American president in the history of the United States!" they shouted.

In Chicago, Obama's hometown, an estimated 125,000 people gathered on an unusually warm November night to greet the senator at a delirious victory rally at Grant Park.

"It's fantastic," said Hulon Johnson, 71, a retired Chicago public school principal. "I've always told my kids this was possible; now they'll have to believe me."

LaKeisha Williams, a 27-year-old laid-off school nurse, who watched Obama's victory on a TV in a downtown Kansas City concert hall, said: "People actually have finally come together and realized that no matter what his race is, he was the right person for the job. I think it was destiny for him to win. But now we still have to come together to make sure things work."

In Miami's predominantly black Liberty City neighborhood, Otoria Pitts, 30, suggested the significance of Obama's victory goes beyond race.