African Amer. Museum & More Old Friends

It has been too long since I have spent time with three old friends: Mary Gill, Judy Nedrow and Chris Riddiough. Mary and I were co-workers at NARAL and good friends. She has battled breast cancer and then a brain tumor. She has been cancer-free for 9 years on an initial 3 years survival expectation for her diagnosis. She is mighty if a bit wobbly. It was good to hear about her progress on writing and publishing her book about her ordeal(s).

Dinner with Chris and Judy was a fun romp. Swapping travel stories and kitchen remodeling woes. I am finding that having been the youngest in my circle of DC friends, everyone is still older. Yes, that is the way it works, but in my head, they’re all the age they were 25 years ago when I left DC.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture was so well done and so terribly sad. First because of the brutality and dehumanizing of a whole people so that whites in America specifically could become wealthy and comfortable. Secondly because the issues continue with police brutality, white supremacy, and white Americans living off the cheap/free labor people of color are still doing. These are so alive and relevant today. It’s not nuanced or micro.

It was wonderful to see so many intergenerational African American families in the museum. As should be expected, but I have gone to a dozen museums on this trip and people of color were always in the minority. It was fun to hear parents explaining things to their children.

It was odd that the museum made an announcement about once an hour to remind folks not to run around and engage in horseplay in the museum. I’ve never been to a museum that did that. And everyone was behaving, well, like they were in a museum. Concerning.

I went through most of the floors but wanted more time to absorb and read and process. I will need to return.Read more