On our drive back from Baltimore the other day, Robert and I stopped off at DC for a couple of hours to go to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. We had never been before and were eager to do so.

“The National Museum of African American History and Culture has accomplished what once seemed like an impossible dream: opening a museum dedicated to a people’s journey and our nation’s complete, unvarnished truth.” (museum website)

We only had time to explore the lower floor, which curated the horrific exploitation of slaves from West Africa. Fascinating. Disturbing. Meticulously documented.

“Slavery and Freedom uses first-person accounts and striking historical artifacts to tell an incredibly complicated tale. The exhibit traces slavery from 15th century Africa and Europe to the Civil War and Reconstruction in the United States. This vital history emphasizes that American slavery and freedom are deeply intertwined, and that the story of slavery is in fact a shared one that resides at the core of American politics, economics and daily life to this very day.” (washington.org)

The wonderful fellow who introduced us to the museum at the entrance suggested that after we explore for a while, we go to the Contemplative Court to “wind down and reset” after the museum’s lower floor trauma.

So we did.

We are determined.