By Dak Blagburn
Today, we spent our time exploring the DC area. Spots on our itinerary included destinations such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Holocaust Museum, and Ben’s Chili Bowl.
We started our day near the Washington monument, exploring the city, which was blooming with cherry blossoms, before meeting at the FDR memorial for a quick tour covering the history of the 4 term President. The tour highlighted the impact of his wife, Eleanor, who had an influential role as well, especially the years following the death of FDR. Also included on the tour was the Martin Luther King Memorial. It was interesting to learn about the construction of the memorial; it is said that its “unfinished” look is intentional in symbolizing MLK’s unfinished work, as well as pointing out his early death. It’s clear there’s still much work to be done regarding the issue of racism in the United States, however, the work of MLK and many others was perhaps the impetus for lasting change in this country. We continue to fight today, but a lot of battles indeed were fought by those before us.
The tour ended at the Lincoln memorial site, another big attraction in the area, where we took many pictures before heading to the optional evening activity, which was the Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust Museum was a very heavy place to be. For those that went, we were able to walk through a dense exhibit, detailing the history, cruelty, and rawness of the Holocaust from several facets. Something that stood out to me was the Aktion T4, a secret plan to murder disabled Jews in hospitals with children included. The fact that psychiatrists and doctors were involved in this practice was very haunting, but again reflected just one aspect of the horrors that many experienced from 1933-1945.
Ending with a lighter note, we found ourselves at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a historical restaurant and one of a few that stayed open following the assasination of MLK. Many notable people have visited the joint, including Obama, Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, etc. which only helped the restaurant gain more traction and influence. It was really nice eating somewhere that has had such a a big influence in its community, and the food was really good as well. The meal was accompanied by a great soulful speech by one of the workers of the restaurant. Here, we also met with recent Carleton alumni and received some insight into what they were doing following their time at Carleton.
Overall, this was a day worth getting through and full of novel experiences. It was also nice to revisit some of my childhood as I was born an hour from the DC area. I’m very excited to see what awaits tomorrow!