Day 36 – Washington, DC

by Micah Pierandri

Today is sadly the last day of our journey. We started our day by going to the National Museum of African American History and Culture where we learned a lot about the history of Africa before the slave trade, slavery, and African American history in the United States. It was really powerful to experience that with everyone.

We then had lunch and walked over to the National Museum of American History. It covered all sorts of American history from the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner to American inventions and transportation to Presidents and the price we have paid for freedom. From there, we went to the Newseum, which covers the history of the news starting all the way back in 1492! We toured the FDR memorial and had a discussion reflecting on our past few days in DC in front of Eleanor Roosevelt’s statue. Before getting back on the bus, we also stopped by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial— where we remembered learning all about Dr. King’s story back in Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Memphis.

We made our way to dinner after our day of museums. After we finished up, we went to the National Mall to tour the memorials at night. We saw the memorials to WW2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. We also saw the statue of Albert Einstein as well as the iconic Lincoln Memorial and spot where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech during the March on Washington in 1963.

On the bus ride back to the hotel, we had the chance to take whichever bumper stickers we wanted to take with us that have been on the bus windows. They were all inspiring quotes that helped lead us on our journey and will help guide us to remember what we learned once we go back home. Once we did make it back to the hotel, we ate cake celebrating our friend Hannah’s birthday and then had a wrap up discussion about our time on Etgar. After having spent the summer engaging with politics, history, and activism from multiple perspectives, we are all ready to change the world for the better when we go back home. It’s been an amazing summer on the road!