Thank you, thank you Staff of Decatur House…you have done a great job with this workshop!
We had a full day today! Our goal was to study African-American community, educational institutions, and activism in DC. We loaded up the bus early and headed to LeDroit Park in DC. It is within site of Howard University.
It is an area of the city that is getting a major “lift.” Many of the homes are being remodeled or restored. 
At one time, it was an all white neighborhood and no blacks were allowed in. A fence even surrounded it. A man sit ting on his porch told us of how the neighborhood was changing for the better. He said to come back in five years and you will see a HUGE difference. 
It was a really pretty neighborhood that didn’t feel like it was in the middle of a bustling city. Today, as it is being revitalized, it is a multi-cultural neighborhood. Some of the houses are extremely grand. 
One old elementary school has been converted into condos. They looked really cool…how would you like to live in a school?
We then went to Mary McLeod Bethune home/Negro Women’s Society. She was a genius! She started with a $1.50 and built schools to educated a thousand children. That went much farther as she moved on with her dreams. Some of the fixtures of the house came from the White House. The White House was being remodeled during the Truman administration and she asked if she could have some of the chandeliers and things and they gave them to her.
She believed in her cause and worked tirelessly to help children and women especially. Education is the key to success…still is. 
Upon returning to the Decatur House, we were treated to a lecture on DC as it stepped toward the Brown v Board of Education decision. Schools were segregated and they certainly weren’t equal…in money spent per child, class size, resources, equipment, etc. The Howard Law Professor who spoke to us had us argue two points that led to the Supreme Court case. It was a lively discussion.
We had the afternoon to explore. I joined four others and trekked to the Phillips Collection…a small museum past DuPont Circle. It was having a special Jacob Lawrence exhibit. Most of my students know that he is one of my favorite artists. All of his paintings are a story in themselves, but having the whole collection tells a story. It tells the story of migration north.
Many of the paintings I had not seen before and they truly did tell a story. I really like the colors and style. He said that it was important that he stick with the same colors so that the story had continuity.
Fortunately, DC is laid out on this easy grid as I was walking back by myself. I started at Q street and ended on F…straight shot. I received a call that my NEW key was ready. I was able to get into my room through another room and I packed. The new key was up by Rosemary (my car) and I thought I would just drop off all the stuff. I watched it rain and rain and rain and hail for awhile and then headed off to the garage. Rosemary was safe and asked me to move her. She was tired of staying in the same spot. So, I did…two spots over.
New key…but first dinner at a cute little restaurant on the corner. I had dinner with some ladies from the workshop. And then…waaaaaaalaaaaaaaaaa….the key worked. I was told that after the locksmith replaced the core, the door jam, had given me 4 keys…..they had the wrong key for the wrong room all along. It was just a fluke that the RA was here with him this time. His key will always work. It is the master key. When she had him try my key, he found out it was the wrong key all along! The series of 4 or 5 keys assigned to this room were assigned wrong…so all of them didn’t work. Ta da…I can now come and go as I please. Unfortunately, I received this key at 7 pm the night before I am to leave. Oh well…the next person in this room won’t have to deal with it. It works now!
We had a full day today! Our goal was to study African-American community, educational institutions, and activism in DC. We loaded up the bus early and headed to LeDroit Park in DC. It is within site of Howard University.
It is an area of the city that is getting a major “lift.” Many of the homes are being remodeled or restored. 
At one time, it was an all white neighborhood and no blacks were allowed in. A fence even surrounded it. A man sit ting on his porch told us of how the neighborhood was changing for the better. He said to come back in five years and you will see a HUGE difference. 
It was a really pretty neighborhood that didn’t feel like it was in the middle of a bustling city. Today, as it is being revitalized, it is a multi-cultural neighborhood. Some of the houses are extremely grand. 
One old elementary school has been converted into condos. They looked really cool…how would you like to live in a school?We then went to Mary McLeod Bethune home/Negro Women’s Society. She was a genius! She started with a $1.50 and built schools to educated a thousand children. That went much farther as she moved on with her dreams. Some of the fixtures of the house came from the White House. The White House was being remodeled during the Truman administration and she asked if she could have some of the chandeliers and things and they gave them to her.
She believed in her cause and worked tirelessly to help children and women especially. Education is the key to success…still is. 
Upon returning to the Decatur House, we were treated to a lecture on DC as it stepped toward the Brown v Board of Education decision. Schools were segregated and they certainly weren’t equal…in money spent per child, class size, resources, equipment, etc. The Howard Law Professor who spoke to us had us argue two points that led to the Supreme Court case. It was a lively discussion.
We had the afternoon to explore. I joined four others and trekked to the Phillips Collection…a small museum past DuPont Circle. It was having a special Jacob Lawrence exhibit. Most of my students know that he is one of my favorite artists. All of his paintings are a story in themselves, but having the whole collection tells a story. It tells the story of migration north.
Many of the paintings I had not seen before and they truly did tell a story. I really like the colors and style. He said that it was important that he stick with the same colors so that the story had continuity.Fortunately, DC is laid out on this easy grid as I was walking back by myself. I started at Q street and ended on F…straight shot. I received a call that my NEW key was ready. I was able to get into my room through another room and I packed. The new key was up by Rosemary (my car) and I thought I would just drop off all the stuff. I watched it rain and rain and rain and hail for awhile and then headed off to the garage. Rosemary was safe and asked me to move her. She was tired of staying in the same spot. So, I did…two spots over.
New key…but first dinner at a cute little restaurant on the corner. I had dinner with some ladies from the workshop. And then…waaaaaaalaaaaaaaaaa….the key worked. I was told that after the locksmith replaced the core, the door jam, had given me 4 keys…..they had the wrong key for the wrong room all along. It was just a fluke that the RA was here with him this time. His key will always work. It is the master key. When she had him try my key, he found out it was the wrong key all along! The series of 4 or 5 keys assigned to this room were assigned wrong…so all of them didn’t work. Ta da…I can now come and go as I please. Unfortunately, I received this key at 7 pm the night before I am to leave. Oh well…the next person in this room won’t have to deal with it. It works now!
1 comment:
Wow, Mrs. Graves...the wrong key the whole time... that's really messed up.
YBBF
Cameron
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