Barack Obama's victory holds special meaning to one Rapid City Councilman. Malcom Chapman grew up on the south side of Chicago and is very active in the Democratic party.  And he says America is a better place to live today because of the barriers that were broken during the historic race to the White House. 

As President-elect Barack Obama took the stage last night representing America's future, Rapid City Councilman Malcom Chapman's thoughts were on the nation's past. His grandparents weren't allowed to vote based on the color of their skin. 

"It was just 43 years ago in August that President Johnson signed the voting rights act so that primarily African Americans could vote and overcome some of the discriminatory practices in the South, and then here we are nominating and ultimately electing an African American for president last night, so I think it says who we are as a country," Chapman says. 

A country Chapman says has made amazing progress in those 43 years, especially with this latest presidential race.  "We had Mitt Romney and we had issues of religion on the table, we had Hillary Clinton with issues of gender, John McCain and issues with his age, so in this election cycle the bottle top has come off and you can't keep people out of the process now," Chapman says. 

Chapman says Obama being elected is not just a win for his party, but a step in the right direction for America.
"We are all better today because of what happened last night regardless of our politics," Chapman says. 

And while Chapman did originally support Hillary Clinton in the primary elections, he says he's very proud of the man his party chose to represent them in the White House.