with the bold text in the example below: The Skychi Travel Guide : January 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Pictorial

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Capitol Hill 57th Presidential Inauguration" />
Capitol Hill 57th Presidential Inauguration 

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Embassy of Canada" />
Canada Salutes President Obama

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Embassy of Canada" />
Embassy of Canada on 57th Presidential Inauguration Day

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade" />
Military and Police Line 57th Presidential Parade Route

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Delta Sigma Theta Bus" />
Delta Sigma Theta 100 Years of Fighting for Women's & Civil Rights

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Inauguration Day Cake" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Day Cake

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is photo of President Obama and First Lady Michelle, Fido" />
President Obama and First Lady Michelle on cover of Washingtonian Magazine

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inauguration Military Parade" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Military Parade

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Navy Marching 57th Presidential Parade" />
Navy Marching in 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Pre-Inauguration Caravan" />
Pre-Inauguration Caravan

<img src="image.gif" alt="This are Redcoats Marching" />
Redcoats Marching in 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Police Motorcycle Procession" />
Police Motorcycle Procession

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Canadian Embassy" />
Parade Goers Watching the 57th Presidential Inauguration on Canadian Embassy' s Monitor 

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Pennsylvania Avenue" />
View of Pennsylvania Avenue on 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Day

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is New Jersey State Police" />
New Jersey State Police at 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Limo" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Limo
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inauguration Invitation" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Invitation
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is President Barack Obama" />
Autographed Photo of President Barack Obama
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inauguration Blue Gate" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Blue Gate
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Camera Crew" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Camera Crew
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Colonial Army" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Colonial Army
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Beyonce, 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade" />
Beyonce on Jumbotron at 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Inauguration Ceremony Green Ticket" />
Inauguration Ceremony Green Ticket
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Canadian Embassy 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade" />
Canadian Embassy - 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is US Park Police on Horseback" />
US Park Police on Horseback - 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade 
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is US Park Police Horseback Riding" />
US Park Police on Horseback
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Sign" />
57th Presidential Inauguration Parade Ticket Sign



<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Pre-Inaugural Capitol Hill" />
Pre-Inaugural Capitol Hill
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is President Barack Obama" />
President Barack Obama delivering Inauguration Speech
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Capitol Hill" />
Capitol Hill ready for 57th Presidential Inauguration
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Presidential Limo" />
Presidential Limo at 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Presidential Inauguration Bus" />
Presidential Inauguration Bus
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is I LOVE PRESIDENT OBAMA FAN" />
I LOVE PRESIDENT OBAMA
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Capitol Hill National Statuary Hall" />
Capitol Hill National Statuary Hall -Site of 57th Presidential Inaugural Luncheon January 22, 2013



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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

NMAHM Celebrate Emancipation Proclamation 1863 & March on Washington 1963

Celebrate 50 years of the Emancipation March on Washington August 28, 1963

National Museum of American History Museum

Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963


December 14, 2012 to September 15, 2013
Second floor east

Reprinted



On August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. began his speech by declaring, "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity ... In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check."
In 2013 the country will commemorate two events that changed the course of the nation – the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington. Standing as milestone moments in the grand sweep of American history, these achievements were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals – both famous and unknown – who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal." Separated by 100 years, they are linked together in a larger story of freedom and the American experience.
To commemorate these two pivotal achievements, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture will present an exhibition that explores the historical context of these two crucial events, their accomplishments and limitations, and their impact on the generations that followed. The exhibition will be on view from Dec. 14, 2012 through Sept. 15, 2013.
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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Library of Congress depicts 5 African Faces of 33 Races

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Skychitravels" />
Skychitravels braving the cold at the 57th Presidential Inauguration

Tuesday, the day after the 57th Presidential Inauguration I went to tour the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the tour guides mention the contributions of Black people.

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Emancipation Hall" />
SkychiTravels in Emancipation Hall


<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Skychitravels" />
"Skychitravels" in Emancipation Hall of Capitol Hill Visitor's Center




During the Capitol Building Tour our guide stated that slaves helped to build the building. 
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Sojourner Truth" />
Skychitravels poses with Sojourner Truth Bust in Emancipation Hall at Capitol Building Visitor's Center

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Slave Commemorative Marker" />
Slave Commemorative Marker in Emancipation Hall of the Capitol Building  Visitor's Center

Our tour guide pointed out the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which has been on display since the MLK Day Federal Holiday in 1969.

<img src="image.gif" alt="Dr Martin Luther King Jr bust" />
Skychitravels poses with bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Capitol Hill Rotunda
<img src="image.gif" alt="This is National Statuary Hall />
Capitol Building Tour Guide in National Statuary Hall location of President Obama's Inaugural Luncheon


Our tour guide lead us to the basement of the Capitol Building where he showed us an archway through which passed Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt for their inaugurations.

<img src="image.gif" alt="Capitol Hill Archway, Washington DC" />
Capitol Hill Archway of the original wall built by slaves



I was full of pride about the contributions of my people being recognized in a history and cultural tour of the Capitol Building, especially after celebrating the second inauguration of the first African American President Barack Obama.

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Tom, Racist Tour Guide" />
Library of Congress Tour Guide Tom pointing out the race of the statues in main hall

Then I met the second tour guide at the Library of Congress who was an enigma. Old Tom stated that something happened yesterday but he didn't know what it was. Next Tom said something about insulting us (Black) and not caring. Everyone in the group was shocked.

<img src="image.gif" alt="This are Library of Congress Frescos" />
Frescos in the Library of Congress

There were two other African American ladies and myself present when our tour guide Tom directed these statements at us. Another husband and wife couple joins who are also African American. Tom points to the frescos and states Blacks placed those stones in the ceiling. He says to the wife of the African American couple something about her getting up there to put those stones in place.

Then another woman who is White walks over to me and asked if I was going to do something about this. I looked at her and shook my head, No. I really did not know what to do or say, none of us knew.

I was thinking. What the hell was his problem? Should I leave? Is he a volunteer? Can you fire a volunteer? Should I join another group? To whom should I complain? Why is he so hateful? Why do old folks feel like they can say whatever they want to say? 
There is something going on. This is not about me. 

<img src="image.gif" alt="This White and Asian Children Sculputres" />
Library of Congress White and Asian Children Sculptures


No one left the tour at that point. We all followed him into the main hall of the Library of Congress. Tom begins to share with us the representation of the races of the children. There are four children representing the White, Asian, African, and Indian people. These were the four races recognized in America by the Library of Congress in 1897.

<img src="image.gif" alt="This are Indian and African Children Sculptures" />
Library of Congress Indian and African Children Sculptures

Now I get it. Old Tom doesn't want to talk about the contributions of Black People or recognize that we exist in history and culture. This is the way my mind interpreted Old Tom's words and actions.

Tom tells the group about the 33 races represented on the outside of the Library of Congress in 1897. There are faces in groups of threes on the corners of the Thomas Jefferson building of the Library of Congress. Then Tom says they had to make up some races like the blonde and brunette race to complete the 33 races because they ran out of races. Tom repeats this statement two or three times.

I am thinking to myself that does not make sense. Sculptures do not have any color. One can't tell if a sculpture is blonde or brunette. This made me curious.

So, I returned the next day to repeat the tours at the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress. This time I joined a tour at the Library of Congress lead by Mary, an African American woman who has been leading tours since 2002. Of course this was a completely different experience to the previous tour with Tom. 

<img src="image.gif" alt="This are Children Sculptures" />
Library of Congress Children Sculptures Representing Various Occupations in 1897
Mary explained the meaning of the sculpture children representing the various work occupations in 1897 that all are welcome to the Library of Congress no matter your occupation.

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is a tour at Library of Congress" />
Tour Guide Mary leading a group at the Library of Congress

After the tour with Mary, I walked outside the Jefferson building of the Library of Congress to see the faces of the 33 races represented in 1897.

<img src="image.gif" alt="This is Library of Congress exterior" />
Faces of 3 Races on the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building
As you can see, there are no blond or brunette races as stated by Old Tom.

What Old Tom didn't say was that there are 5 faces of African Race on the back of the Library of Congress.

Five African Faces on the Rear of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building

Thanks to Old Tom, I discovered a National Treasure of Monuments to Black History. In 1897, Library of Congress recognized 5 African faces. My pride has returned thanks to Old Tom lies and my curiosity.

I stand corrected Old Tom stated there was a blonde, brunette and redhead race; there in fact are blonde and brunette races depicted on the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building.

 Read more at What are the races depicted on the Library of Congress?
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