To read part 3 click here.
Day 3:
Today started with a session where we all got to introduce ourselves and find out more about each other, one that once again left me with a profound sense of imposter syndrome but also joy at being able to be sharing this trip with journalists of this caliber and experience – from the 37 year-old Algerian Bouzid Ichalalene who, when the newspaper he was working for had to shut down due to political pressure, started his own with some friends and has been sued numerous times by various Ministers and even the President himself, to the young Siyanne Mekonnen Abebe from Ethiopia who has faced online and in-person harassment including threats of violence and rape, and even death!
As if that session was not emotionally charged enough we then visited the Smithsonian Museum of African American History, which is refreshingly honest about the country’s past.
At eight floors of museum you’ll struggle to get to see everything but the slavery floors are a must. It was a highly emotional experience and I found myself close to tears on several occasions – I can only imagine how the majority black visitors who were there felt!
The exhibit walks you through history from the early days till the present, and I was once again lucky with my timing because Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech was on special temporary display. This was definitely a good reminder about all the bad things that happened, how far we’ve all come, but also, how far we still have to go.
As you go higher up in the museum the focus shifts to a more positive angle, celebrating the achievements of African Americans and their contribution to the country, with reminders though of some of the many issues that still exist – like Trayvon Martin’s flight suit that once again had me close to tears at the absolute waste racial hatred can cause.
Higher still there was an art exhibition with many moving pieces, and a exhibit of Afro-futurism, and even a nod to recent cultural highlights.
Quotes from the Museum of African American History:
Rather than having these lost in the previous post which already had loads of photos, I thought I’d post some of the many many quotes which adorn the walls of the museum, and which stood out for, and moved, me.
Yesterday I took a photo of Prince’s guitar to share with Jacques [Radiowave DJ] and today I started doing the same with all the guitars I saw in the Museum of African American History, but by the time I was done it seemed like a pretty awesome collection so I decided to just post it all here.
To read part 5 click here.
