DC to the Fullest: Black History Month Kick-Off!

Anyone who really knows me knows that I love African American history/culture. Thus I love February (Black History Month) and planned a whole day of activities to commemorate the wonderful contributions Blacks have made to America. DC is the perfect locale to do this :)

My friend Cory from BYU just moved to DC for an internship and I invited him to come exploring. We both invited friends who joined us through various parts of the day. We met my friend Leslie at George Washington University (where I work and study), grabbed breakfast sandwiches on campus, and set out on an extremely chilly morning for the Lincoln Memorial!

My sandwich was uber delicious (ham, cheese, & eggs on toasted wheat bagel)

It was uber cold

I hadn't seen the movie "Lincoln" and Cory mentioned how cool it would be to go to the memorial and watch the movie on the same day - great idea!

Great view of the Washington Monument over the Reflection Pool. So many historical events happened here! i.e. Marion Anderson's 1939 concert and Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech. (see blog post about my last visit in June 2012)

Then we scurried over to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which I had only seen from the water, paddling on the Tidal Basin last summer. (see blog post about that adventure)

We couldn't find someone to take a good pic of us, so we spent forever trying to take shots with the timer setting haha

Walked by the site for the new National Museum of African American History and Culture - I can't WAIT to celebrate Black History Month there in 2 years!

Then we scurried over to the American History Museum just in time to catch the Jazz Masterworks Quartet :) Such talented musicians... Jazz, in my opinion, is African Americans' single greatest contribution to America.

Cory's friend Porschia and my friend Greg met up with us there. We listened to a couple of great Smithsonian actors re-enact and teach about important black historical speeches by key figures such as Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Ida B. Wells.

Walked through this new exhibit "Changing America" comparing the 1860s (Civil War & Emancipation Proclamation) and 1960s (Civil Rights Movement). Ironic how the "Civil" War and "Civil" Rights Movement turned out to be quite violent and un-civil...

Saw a display about Gabrielle Douglas, the US gymnast who helped bring home the Olympic gold last year. Leslie and I met on our high school gymnastics team 10 years ago (!!!). Sweet moment :)

Then we walked to Chinatown to buy movie tickets for "Lincoln", continually marvelling at how un-Chinese the DC Chinatown is -

We walked around and finally agreed on lunch at Royal Thai, where the decor was adorable, the food was blah, and the service much lacking...

The chicken was undercooked in my Thai fried rice (the most bland and lackluster I've ever had)

Then Greg and Porschia had to leave; Leslie, Cory, and I went to see the "Struggle for Freedom" exhibit in the National Portrait Gallery about brave activists not only for Blacks' rights, but also for women, the disabled, LGBT, migrant workers, Native Americans, Asians, and Latinos -

The time came to watch "Lincoln". I regret to say that I was really sleepy from being full, comfy, and warm...so I didn't catch the beginning parts. But it was an insightful movie about such different times. So grateful for the sacrifices of others for the freedoms and comforts we enjoy today.

After the movie, Leslie had to go and Cory's friend Jeff met up with us. We left DC for the day and went to Hamburger Hamlet in Crystal City for dinner because I'd seen an ad for free jazz there! The band was SO GOOD! I could tell they were extremely experienced and well-trained. I couldn't believe it was free. And the ambiance and food were both up to par :)