A few years ago I visited the National Museum of African American History & Culture with my grandparents. When we stepped out of the building my grandmother kept repeating the words “I lived it. I lived it. I lived it.” She’s still here. That history is still in her bones. You can never erase that.
My grandfather was born in 1930s Mississippi, my grandmother in 1930s Florida. They, like millions of other Black Americans, remember living in an era of racial apartheid in the American South. It is a history that the NMAAHC captures with rigor, with honesty, with humanity. It is essential.
Ruth Bonner, the woman who helped open the NMAAHC in 2016, was the *daughter* of a man born into slavery. My grandfather’s grandfather was enslaved. One of the most essential functions of the museum, is that it shows us how the history we’ve been told was long ago was actually not long ago at all.
My grandmother knew people who had been slaves. She grew up with men who fought in the Civil War. The past is not to very passed; and with us, late and soon.
Clint, even as a pale male, my touchstone ever since I realized it is that my dad, still alive, healthy, sharp and with his own teeth, is older than Emmett Till would be had he not been murdered and had lived a long life, as should have been his due. Hardly the past at all.
Emmitt was killed right before I was born. Yes I'm old but still with it!
It is a wonderful museum. There is so much FACTUAL information. How dare DT act like it’s too “woke” or whatever! 😡
Had the same experience with my elders some years back. Some that I’ve since lost. I will never forget walking through those exhibits with them. I especially loved the room with videos of Black Americans talking about their lived history & where you could add your own recording. It underscored 1/2
the continuation of ‘the mission’ from then through to us now. Somewhere in that museum, there is video of me and my father- who I’ve since lost to Covid- smiling together on video as a part of that history. 2/2
My sympathy for your father’s passing. I’m glad you had that experience (& so many others) together.
There’s no “w@s”, y’all
It what should be a surprise to no one, trump is out to gut the NMAAHC
![“Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture … for criticism. ‘Museums in our Nation’s capital should not be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,’ [Trump] said.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:h4ogqijs33eokodlfzzlggq7/bafkreig4aw62ev6chj7ga3kulg5o2pnejbcqxfxqjfdpade473hy7o3bg4@jpeg)
That’s what I keep coming back to when teaching my kiddo our history. The black-and-white and grainy photos mess with the mind and make us think it was long ago. Really struck me at the Whitney Plantation, which I visited on account of your book.
I was thinking recently how I was born 9 and 6 years after MLK and Malcolm X were shot, and yet growing up in the 80’s it was already presented as “ancient history.” It wasn’t until I was older that I realized - um, that was all right before I was born.
I've thought about that a lot, too.
Those black and white photos are intended to make people think and feel that these events took place in the distant past, to let white people distance themselves from the horror of their actions and policies.
I was gobsmacked when I learned we have color photos of MLK, despite never seeing them in school. Gobsmacked and disgusted, to put it lightly.
I was like the Wee-Bey meme when I realized my grandparents were born before MLK.
Ruby Bridges is on Instagram.
Yuuuuuuuup.
If your grandmother is still alive, please hug her from me.
I'm "only" 65, but I remember what happened in Marquette Park in Chicago when Dr. King marched for open housing. He was hit in the head with a rock. Later, in high school I witnessed Jesse Jackson getting spit on while leading a school integration march in my neighborhood. Not that long ago at all.
♥️
Visceral. 💙
That museum is as beautiful as it is gripping. I ran thru every emotion during my visits there and engaged in several meaningful conversations with fellow visitors. It’s life changing.
Every generation has to fight for the rights of the next one.
Sadly, in two or three generations, if we don’t all work to keep it available and in print, it can be erased. We gotta start up the Freedom Schools again.
We were lucky enough to happen to visit on MLK Day when a simple survey got us in without queueing. We only had the energy for the history bit, but I was particularly impressed with the way the history was told in bald facts, not opinions. Numbers tell their own truth.
Glad to see you on Bluesky bro ✊🏽
The AAHC was the only Smithsonian we went to that required a timed ticket entry. I'm Assuming that wasn't a "glitch". Only way to fight this crap is to make it so that you gotta book that museum MONTHS in advance!
Wow. These truths won't be hidden WY forever.
Tell your grandmother "Thank you" from me.
You’re living it. You’re living it. You’re living it.
The museum must have gotten it right!
It is the most moving museum experience I’ve ever had. That elevator down is so powerful. I’m heartbroken this is where we are today.
That museum affected me more than any others I’ve been to. Every single person in this country should HAVE to visit it.
Unfortunately it looks like the fight is entering round 2.
This gives me chills…we must not allow them to erase our history. We cannot.
I just read that the Trump regime is targeting that museum. apnews.com/article/trum...
Now they are trying to Erase all non white history. They want to impose their Facist Ideologies
That's right. My parents, grandparents, mentors, etc. have all told me that our generation will have to fight this battle all over again. They won't live long enough to see the outcome this time.
❤️ to your grandparents, and your amazing books, too. Grateful
🇨🇦 On my bucket list. But, won’t step foot in 🇺🇸 while MAGA is running the show. I am 76 so may never make it. Sad!
But her generation won't always be here. You need to copy it all down because the right-wing want to erase it. 'Paste' it back when sanity returns.
Please give your grandmother my respect. I lived it, too, but from the 'other side' of the window. In 1961, at 9 years old, my mother gave me a concussion with a slap for questioning her opposition to black children attending my school or living in our neighborhood. Always been a proud SJW.
This is why we need to educate our children the importance of History. Not only the History of America but World History.
Clint....RECORD EVERYTHING! not just you, anybody who knows someone lived this era. Once you do keep being loud and keep these records safe. These people want to erase or at least whitewash that history, DO NOT LET THEM!
If you’re an adult in America you, your parents, or your grandparents lived in a segregated society, and when women couldn’t get credit cards, and gay people were closeted.
They're trying...😢
❤️❤️❤️
I brought a book home without realizing the depth of its significance. John A Stoke's memoir, Students on Strike. Born 1931 in Virginia, which had only one black highschool at the time. This student led strike would later influence Brown v Board of Education. Amazing & timely.
💙
That museum and any other at Smithsonian that teaches us TRUE history had better be kept safe!!!!👍🏼
They keep trying to erase it, but we'll be there, saying it's still true.
Given there are people who are Holocaust deniers, rewriting the history of slavery and Jim Crow is on brand.
The NMAAHC is an honest witness to American history. The Equal Justice sites in Montgomery are as well. They all need to be protected. The non-profit I work at in Pennsylvania has been taking teens on a five day bus trip to Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, and Tuskegee for 33 years. Life-changing.
It never should be erased; and every time the gerrymandering issue comes up we are reminded of our horrible mistakes! 🧌👍💪
The stories about a people's continuing struggle to be free, are heartbreaking but magnificent. I can't understand the level of 'I don't care and I can't think and feel' required to want to erase part of our American heritage.
🙏 for sharing your beautiful, profound statement by your grandmother. Made me 😢 for her and also for my own Jewish family persecuted & murdered under Hitler. Thank you also for your incredible Atlantic article about Stolpersteine remembrance plaques in Germany. We laid our own there last October.
We have "Tripping Stones"/Snublesteiner here in Bergen, Norway. History of the Occupation is all around in the everyday. A week ago, we commemorated the execution in 1945 of 14 Resistance fighters. I have been an archaeologist/museum professional. History must not be erased.
🙏 from San Francisco for your deep work to preserve memory, we are kindred spirits in that regard. And given what we are living through historical remembrance is more important than ever - everyone’s history.
The key is to continue to speak that History
💓 hug for your grandmother
Clint, like I discuss with my historian friend all the time, these folks are dying off. We are in a race to capture stories, photos, and artifacts.
History cannot be erased because every day! We live and create more of it. I draw from my history. Amazing stuff !!
Truth! So much history not being taught, or being covered up! Women always have been and will be the first slaves!
www.npr.org/2025/03/27/n.... Trump is trying to “whitewash” our history. Every day, I think my head’s going to explode.
She must be devastated that her grandchildren will have to fight the same battles for equality all over again.
I’m so glad she got to see it celebrated, recognized, validated. Give her a hug.
💙 💙 💙
Please do an interview with her on video so her knowledge can be shared for future generations.
I had a much better life because of the Civil Rights Movement. Solidarity.
My grandparents lived it too, not nearly as clearly on the right side of history as they wished they’d been in hindsight.
Trauma stays forever.
Please give your grandmother a hug. She, just by surviving it, is a warrior queen. And please, if you can, write down he story or record her talking about it. The world needs these records so the current and next wave of fascists can't erase and deny. ❤️🤗
I’m so sorry grandma! 😢
You know miller is trying to whitewash it or shutter it. He will fail.
It's also so important to educate young people who haven't lived it. I'm white and my kids' mom is Black. We moved to the South a few years ago and I tell the kids if this was 60 years earlier, mom and I would be in jail. Brings dry history home.
Hug to your grandmother. 🌴🌈🩵💜🩷💚🌈🌴
I've been thinking. The Smithsonian is being targeted for ruination. Maybe we need to create new museums and archives to preserve the history being destroyed.
I wonder where the ruby slippers will end up.
Probably on VP's feet.
President Trump has signed an executive order prohibiting weeds from growing in the White House lawn. The order will save the Americans billions of dollars. Trump saw it as ending unwanted diversity in the lawn. DEI is everywhere.
This is why I never use the N-Word... Simple as that.
Never forget
They’re in your bones, too. None of us should forget that, either.
I'm reading your book - thank you!
Would Trump be able to close the entire building??
Recycled #KKK for the #trump #vance #musk administration and also #putin. Violent and completely dumb but also extremely powerful white cultists supremacist. Actually 💀💀💀 does it too.
We’re living it now. And that is what makes this all so revolting.
I thought that, too. My thoughts are with the good people of America. What we are watching here in the UK is mind-blowingly staggering. I never thought I'd live to see a USA dismantle into Fascism. Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK.
3 weeks ago I visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. I feel that every American should make it a goal to visit in their lifetime. I made a donation while there out of fear it would lose funding. If it survives they will need to add a new wing to it.
Boomer here! My father was also born in 1930 but didn't discuss his experience other than volunteering as security for The March On Washington. Proud to say that when my youngest daughter visited the Museum, she said she already knew most of the history.
Btw, my dad was a CO in Brooklyn. March organizers didn't want to use racist Capitol PD for security, so they put the call out for Black off-duty police, correction & security officers to volunteer to secure March. I've been waiting for that documentary!
Existence is resistance
You know what I hope and pray for, Clint? That this obvious white nationalist directive towards the NMAAHC boosts its popularity even more. Want a way to fight back? Visit that amazing museum in droves! Give to the Smithsonian so private donations can fund truthful telling of our nation’s history.
Go see this museum before it gets sanitized and fight to make sure it doesn’t.
Since my son lives in DC, we've been able to visit it a couple of times. It is truly a remarkable place that teaches so much about our shared history. I can't imagine what Trump will do to the history. People need to go now. (I watched Civil Rights play out in the 60s as a white kid in rural Iowa.)
My four year old daughter has met 90 year olds. If any of of them, at four years old, knew a 90 year old black person, that person would have almost certainly been a slave. To me, that is being one generation away from slavery.
I really like your book
I really liked your book, "How the Word is Passed"
They should all be forced to get rid of the diversity, equity and inclusion in their investments and financial portfolios. See how they like watching their money dwindle.
It's one of the things that brings a special pain to us old folks. We lived these things. And now we're supposed to pretend they never happened. This is a recipe for madness.
And to have your actual history called "wrong ideology." Sheesh.
I visited that museum 3 yrs ago. I’m a white Canadian, born and raised in the Netherlands, I spent the ‘80s in the Deep South. I was mostly overwhelmed by watching the African Americans going through the galleries: their emotions, the way they held each other.
"The past is never dead. It's not even past." -- William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun
Your grandmother's refrain reminds me this from Angels in America: "You can never make that crossing that she made, for such great voyages in this world do not any more exist. But every day of your lives, the miles - that voyage from that place to this one - you cross...In you, that journey is."
“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past" -1984 I am thinking of that quote when President Donald Trump put out the executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” which targets the Smithsonian Institute.
I visited DC for the first time last year. The NMAAHC was on my to see list. Having graduated from HS in ‘75, I was angered by the history that was never taught to me when I was in school.
Took my daughter here last year for her spring break! Took a bunch of pictures. Hope we can rebuild it in the future.
If you're ever in Chicago area with a few hours to spare, go to the Dusable Museum. Their tour includes a cutaway section of a slave ship, giving you an idea of how cramped the quarters were bringing slaves to the States.
When we were there, there was a woman whose mother grew up in the same slave cabin they have on the lower level. Quite a sobering reminder. Side note: An ad I made for Amnesty International featuring Muhammad Ali is in that museum. It's my crowning career highlight.
💔
The depth of dishonor of the current POTUS, VP and minions has no bottom. A stain on their honor, their families, their party, their communities and our nation. What does it say about us that we elected a convicted felon with a lifetime record of dishonor, bankruptcies and failed relationships. sad!
Please preserve the Smithsonian Institution and It’s Museums? It is in the long term service of the nation. The National Museum of African American History and Culture in particular. Don’t cowe to the political agenda of a dishonorable POTUS🇺🇸
I went and spent almost six hours-life changing <3
But as part of Trump’s determination to destroy history by whining about “woke” ideology, he may cripple our esteemed museums that educate those who visit them. He will be remembered as THE DESTROYER 😰😰😰😰😰
We cannot allow that to happen
And no one should want to...I saw it a few years ago, and it was deeply moving. I am white, but it makes no difference in the experience of the telling of American history, with all its failures and grievous faults.
I visited last year, and rested in the entrance hall- watched as hundreds of Black and other diverse folks marveled, with amazed faces and tears in their (our) eyes. I thought- this is what American History should be. We cannot allow fascists to destroy this treasure.
I remember 4 bathrooms in a row in my county courthouse and Union train station. Only 62ish years ago.
These people just don’t want to be reminded that they came from monsters. But they sure like to remind us who they are with their flags and their statues of racists and public spaces named after them. The cognitive dissonance is astounding.
💙
We will keep her story alive. They will never be able to erase history.
“The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.” —Faulkner’s well worn words. These dangerous clowns think they can make things go away with a wave of their hands. They’d be wrong. And they’re gonna find out. But not before doing plenty of damage, we know.
Clint Smith If you haven't done it yet sit down with her and video record her telling her stories. Everyone should be doing that before the stories are lost. We must never forget where we came from.
And the Museum of African American History & Culture is one of the most frequently visited museums in Washington , D.C. Just try to get a ticket in the good weather months!!
Better do that soon, with Trump specifically targeting the museum there is a good chance it will be closing soon.
I think this might be a red line. But, with Trump and his klan, it is possible. If so, there will be a fight.
We will see if VP Vance is willing to stick his head into the woodchipper of African-American politics. The worldwide 2020 protest cycle over a poor decision by one police officer should be a lesson on - with whom not to fuck.
Tourism will have plummeted this year resulting in less queuing up to get into Museum's and Places of Interest. Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK.
A silver lining .... if Trump and Musk don't close our museums down to save money for tax cuts for the super-wealthy. But yes, you make a good point. After Trump and his klan are done, who will want to come here and risk being abducted by ICE .... especially if you have tattoos.
It's an utterly magical place, and a credit to everyone who had a hand in making it happen. I can't remember any other museum I've visited that affected me the way the NMAAHC did.
This is an outrage. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
From the guy who lies at least 21 times a day…
📌
It’s so important to document living history. My grandfather was at Schofield AFB during Pearl Harbor. He fought in a tank at the Battle of the Bulge. He would never talk about it, and we lost a great amount of history when he died. He would talk about running alcohol as a kid during prohibition
The racists won't win. ✊🏿✊🏻
The other side lived it, and wants to go back. They are still here too. We can’t forget that when evaluating elections outcomes.
But they will try.
I am so ashamed of American History. Then and worse NOW.
When I was there bearing witness, it felt like people taking pictures of the displays were saying: “Yes, it was this. And it is this. And this. And this. And this.” This museum is a necessary place.
One of the best museums-
I am so sorry she had to endure. Please have her story written down, tape recorded, preserved, somehow. People's experiences and history must not be lost.
❤️
And it's not just about erasing history - it's establishing a dangerous precedent defining biological race. www.reddit.com/r/50501/s/bK...
So that's good she spoke in past tense...
This is so important for people to understand. Please give your grandmother an extra hug from a stranger who appreciates her.
just the documentation to support her claims. which makes it her word against theirs
I had the honor to visit the National Museum of African American History & Culture the year it opened in 2016. Remarkable place. The same visit someone close to me was inducted into the NAS accompanied by a speech by President Obama. That’s when America was great. I miss it.
The museum was under construction last time I was in DC. Hope it lasts out the Trump administration
I remember being told by a German friend that her school taught children all about the Nazis and the death camps, gas chambers etc. Their govt legislated that these horrors be impressed upon them at a young age precisely in order that no future German govt would do anything like it again.
My grandfather was a farmer in deep Klan territory. He ran for sheriff, won, and took them on. Sent some to prison. They threatened his family, poisoned his well & livestock. He carried a pistol the rest of his life. When he died, 100s of the persecuted attended his funeral to mourn.
Proud to have visited before the Regime white-washes it!
"That history is still in her bones." WOW, did you come with that, it's powerful, and poetic.
I wouldn't repeat that in front of a Republican...
"🎶Oh, No! You can't take that away from me!!!🎶"
In her bones and yours. 🥰
💯
Never forget. Do not go quietly #MinTruth ncac.org/news/executi...
It is in our nation’s bones, and we will not let it be erased.
Thank you for sharing your story.
Hugs to your grandmother!
💙🙏💙
My sister and I were fortunate enough to visit in the summer of 2021. The Museum is beautiful. Heartbreaking. Empowering. And apparently terrifying for the racist bigots of the GOP. I'm disgusted.
That's exactly what my mother said to me on the phone in #23Feb 1981, when the tanks started rolling in Valencia: «I've already lived this.»
Please, give your grandmother a big hug from me
This doesn’t track. The NMAAH was heavily supported by corporate sponsors. This isn’t all government money he’s f’ing with. Same with the Kennedy Center. Trumpo is a jealous bitch. Couldn’t stand the Kennedy Rose garden or Kennedy Ctr. Like that Simpsons episode.
Biden's birthdate is closer to the end of the civil war than to present day.
The museum is an unblinking look into American history and the origin of the slave trade from Africa. It gutted me.
Please hug your gran for me.
Too right
I hope the museum has recorded people like your grandparents.
While others have grabbed tiki torches and resorted to screeching in the dark at imaginary encroachment… Lawyers (independent and those representing NAACP, NUL, etc) can scour the EO, prepare and position themselves to sue and halt each and every real attempt at interfering with NMAAHC. Period.
That museum was one of the most meaningful and devastating experiences of my life.
I believe they’re making any attempts possible to rile up Black folks, so they can mass arrest us. We are story tellers and like you said about your grandma, the history is in our bones. We will keep our asking no matter what the do. We need to keep banning together, celebrate and invest in US!
Let them burn their themselves up with hate.
How wonderful that you got to experience that with them. It is my favorite museum in DC.
AND SHE’LL PASS THAT HISTORY ON… NO… THEY CAN’T EARASE HER❤️🌺
The Smithsonian has long partnered with global cultural preservation like UNESCO & others to protect humanities treasures in the face of politics & natural disasters. I hope the global community can intervene to protect these US museums! culturalrescue.si.edu/who-we-are/c...
God bless her.
Check out donOLD’s latest executive order
Just reading “Word” for our book group. Bravo. Your description of the Whitney Plantation captured the horror admirably. I am afraid our national stain is being consciously erased in the interest of rewriting history for yt folks. It’s like suffering a relapse.
Now I’m hearing your grandmother’s words. I will put her words on my protest signs on April 5th.
It’s been a minute, Clint. Hope fatherhood is treating you well. Nobody who stated that Frederick Douglas “is doing great work” needs to be near our national museums. youtu.be/x6MAOFqKi0I?...
The more I learn of your people's history the stronger is my resolve as a white person to offer my sincere allyship. What's happened is/was wrong and it was white people, mostly men, who did it. Therefore it's incumbent upon me as a white person to stand with you, by you and if you ask, up for you.
Tons of women were among those advocating for slavery and later segregation too, just as plenty of women (even most white women) are out there now voting for the politicians who'd like to go back to those times
True. I wasn't sure about saying 'mostly men'. I stand corrected. Thanks. 😊
My daughter and classmates are headed there in two weeks. Fingers crossed the MAGA/nazis haven’t closed it yet.
Happy your grandmother visited before this purge. Sadly they're going to erase a lot of important history simply because it doesn't fit into or disputes their agenda. I was born & raised in the DC area. The museums were a source of wonder and inspiration. I never could have imagined this happening.
I visited it a couple years ago and it was so well done. It is still one of my favorite museums.
If Trump wants to remove funding, I would pay to tour it. It’s that well done so I hope the Board of Regents deny Trump’s suggestions. If I was a millionaire, I would fund it.
This museum was my first thought upon trump’s pronouncement
That is why we Need folks to write their stories!
White guy here; but one of the most profound experiences I've had at the Smithsonian was in front of the lunch counter from Woolworths, hearing an African American mom explain what it meant to her young kids. Literally brought tears to my eyes.
Wow. Wow.
We went to DC years ago and it wasn’t open yet. I can’t imagine what will happen to these amazing free museums. It’s really sad and troubling. I hate ALL of this!
Your grandmother and your story have touched my heart. I have always wanted to go to the NMAAHC, and finally got the chance to make my first visit two weeks ago. I fervently hope for it to stay under Lonnie Bunch's directorship and discernment.
📌
May your grandmother live many many more years 💙
If these goons try to fuck that museum up it will be the worst mistake they will ever make. Black people especially, and their friends and allies, but Black people really, will not take that and it will create a storm that cannot be quelled.
That museum experience is still with me. And I did not live it. But from the bottom to the top it is one hell of a journey.
Jumped through hoops to get there while back in the states last year. Overwhelmingly powerful place and a vibe that held deep sorrow and joyful amazement in beautiful balance. An unforgettable experience. Have been wondering what the evil bastards are going to do to sabotage it. Damn them all.
Trying to erase history is definitely a sign of a STUPID FOOL…😵💫🤬🤡👿🤪🤯🤮
This is what they have always done to keep Native Americans and Black Americans oppressed. They try to strip away history and culture. It was once illegal for Native Americans to speak their language, and document their history. It was not abolished until 1978. 1978!
Trump would prefer a story that once slavery was abolished, Black Americans had every opportunity to thrive just like white people and if there are racial disparities now, it's due to intellect and character defects, not the subsequent 100+ years of apartheid, Jim Crow, lynchings, etc.
They sterilized us and still to this day kidnap and kill us.
Truth!!
I'm sorry she lived it. I'm sorry you are living it now. I'm sorry we are having to endure this bullshit. I'm sorry for it all.
No - but they sure as hell can burry that entire exhibit and quietly destroy it somewhere... "We didn't know what Dem Dar Crates were.... just told to burn it. - Dunno Who." Shit happens - in all the wrong ways with this Fascist Nazi Ragime.
Just went a couple of years ago. I thought it would only take an hour or two but I ended up spending the entire day. As soon as this regime started slashing and burning, my first thought was, they better leave the AA museum TF alone
Damned if they aren’t going to try to. DOGE is going after the Smithsonian’s now, and the National Museum of African American History & Culture is one of the top ones on their list. 😡
Achingly poignant and so, so unnecessarily sad. I’m sorry she has to witness this disgusting dishonor. I’m ashamed as an American.
I'm glad I was able to visit twice. And the second time, I caught so many small things I missed because a lot of it was overwhelming the first time.
📌
I hope they take all the exhibits and put them somewhere safe until they can be returned to the museum. No telling what the new people will do.
I am just sick over this. Dude, leave the museums alone.
And by word of mouth and in loving arms those stories need to be kept alive. Though painful we gift them to our children to give them reason and keep them necessarily wary. We need the art and the stories. We are a HUGE part of the American story. We give it context. Fight the propaganda!
Thanks for sharing. We need to make sure our true history is remembered, for our families and the rest of our country.
As a white kid that grew up in a Jim Crow segregated town in the sixties, I remember when they finally desegregated the public schools. We had a black high school and a white high school. The black one named for Carver was closed. This will never leave me. The white racists wanted everyone to forget
I visited in 2017. As a white women from Australia I was very naive as to what the experience was. I became acutely aware that my presence was making some of the older folks uncomfortable and felt an unnameable sadness. I was torn between educating myself or removing myself for the good of others
I’m the last generation to have seen the dogs, the fire hoses & the beating of the Freedom Riders on the nightly news. To my sons, these horrific events are documentaries. To my granddaughter this history will be erased. I booked tickets to the African Museum immediately to show her while I can.
I go every time I am in DC. My favorite thing aside from reading all the text is watching the multigenerational families making their way slowly through the lower floors.
