Here’s how this whirlwind of a trip went:
On the first day, we got on the bus at 7 AM from New Haven to go to Washington, DC. Once we arrived we met our wonderful tour guide, Jess, who showed us and told us about the White House, Lafayette park, Freedman’s Bank, Decatur House, Black Lives Matter Plaza, Lincoln Memorial, the Reflection Pool, the National Harbor, and the Ferris Wheel at the National Harbor. We then got to the hotel and slept.
One of the most interesting things I took away from this day is that even now, improvements made for the African American community can be performative and inconsiderate. For example, the Black Lives Matter Plaza is barely noticeable, and regular traffic passes over the powerful phrase constantly, which is nothing other than disrespectful.
The second day, we went on a tour of Arlington Cemetery, lunch at the Pentagon City Mall, visited the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, had a great dinner at Ben’s Chili Bowl (historic and black-owned restaurant), took a random late night trip to Waffle House as a group, then slept.
Something I took away from this day was that an unbelievable amount of graves of soldiers and of slaves at Arlington Cemetery were marked “unknown.” I thought this showed a lot about who we as Americans think of as people and who we think of as worthy of identification. It was heartbreaking.
The third day, we went to a local YMCA to play some basketball, then reflected on the history of the land there which was previously a black-only park. We then visited the Robert Russa Moton Museum (birthplace of the student-led civil rights movement), the Appomattox Court House National Historical Site (site of the conclusion of the Civil War), had dinner, ice cream, and then took time for reflection on the UVA lawn, then slept.
Something I took away from this day was that sometimes the most important things happen in unexpected and relatively small places, and that anyone can make a difference in the world and start a movement.
The fourth day, we visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home and plantation. After lunch, we went to the UVA Memorial to Enslaved Laborers and learned about the history of UVA. We then went on a tour of Charlottesville and learned more about the history present on the land of enslaved communities and violence against enslaved people. We then had the privilege of walking around more of the area with activist Rosia Parker and hearing about her experience with racism in Charlottesville. We then had dinner, did some reflecting through writing, and slept.
Something I took away from this day was a weariness of the overwhelming cheerfulness at Monticello and how it made completely no sense given the context of slavery, abuse, and trauma in the history of the land. It was quite disheartening and draining.
The fifth and final day, we visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and reflected there looking at his quotes. We then did a walking tour of Capitol Hill, looking at Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress. After lunch, we went to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. After looking through the galleries and have final time for reflection, we headed home on the bus, had a great time together as a community, and arrived home at around midnight.
Something I took away from this day was a sense of duty and responsibility to better my community and my country. I felt excited, especially after the MLK memorial, about my future and about my potential as an American and as a human.
It was an incredible, moving, and educational trip. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go on it with such great chaperones and peers, and I will carry what I learned with me through the rest of my life. I’m honored to have been part of the first year of this trip.
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