By A Thread: See America First

In the midst of an over long political campaign we have to seek beauty and comfort where we can. So I have been seeing more of America. In September I had an opportunity to visit the National Museum of African American of History Culture in Washington,D.C. I also got a peek of POTUS's motorcade arriving at the museum for the opening ceremony. Three presidents were there for the opening. We visitors could not have asked for a more beautiful weekend for the opening. I even went live on Facebook the day before the opening to share my thoughts about being there. The Mall was full of folks and I was glad to be in the mi.

As for the museum, the building is beautiful inside and out. The exhibits are vast and it will take several visits to fully take it all in. However, my travel companion and I did our best during our Sunday, marathon 12 hour visit. One memorable moment included looking at the segregated train car and the lunch counter where people protested segregation. I was walking between the 2 exhibits and I heard a young man say "hey". I asked, "do I know you?' He said "no but you looked like you need to be brought back from wherever you were." So I was reminded of the pain of Jim Crow and how resilient we are. I cannot imagine what my face would have looked like if I had been able to see the Emmett Tilll exhibit. The lines were very long so that I will have to see it another time.

On a less somber note I enjoyed learning about communities around the country that I never heard of when I was younger. For example, there was Oak Bluffs, a vacation community south of Martha's Vineyard where African American spent summers. I never even thought about that part of the country when I was young. But the excitement of life is to learn new things and explore new places. Maybe I will get to visit the area in the future.

The weather made the trip to Washington, DC so much nicer than when I went in January 2009 for the inauguration. It was very cold then and the masses made me feel faint. But wonderful fall weather prevailed and the temperatures were just right for walking around. I still need to be walking to wear off the yummy lump crab cakes.

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.