Exploring Black Georgetown

It's 7:50 a.m. and I hear my mother banging on my bedroom door saying, "I SLEPT TOO LATE! GET UP!"  In a matter of 10 minutes my mom made breakfast and Amir and I had to get up and get dressed. By the time we got ready, it was 8:00 a.m and my mother was still yelling at us saying things like, "I am tired of you ALWAYS BEING LATE! TAKE SOME INITIATIVE AND SET AN ALARM!" while we were walking out the door eating breakfast. Since I live down the street from a metro, WE SPRINTED TO THE STATION because the train was going to leave in one minute and the next train was not coming for another 12 minutes. So finally we got on the metro headed to Foggy Bottom. Ananda had been there since 7:30 because she didn't want to be late. After waiting for 15 minutes Gyasi and Kai showed up. We thought Eliza, Jocelyn and Nadia was going to be with them. Turns out they're not. So we waited another 15 minutes and Lesley shows up. So we call Eliza, Jocelyn and Nadia to see where they are; they said that they were going to be there in 15 minutes. By this time it's 9:15. So we Wait....Wait...Wait.... Listen to music...... Wait ...... Look Around.... Wait....  So as group we decided to leave and start the Metro Journey (MJ) without them because Jocelyn said in the Google Hangout the day before the MJ that "If you're late, we will leave you."

So That Is How My First MJ STARTED....

Now we took a little trip to Saint John's Church where we were supposed to meet the rest of our group,  but they took a little walk to Dean and Deluca. But back to what we were talking about.  This photo is from the wrong church.  We were supposed to get a photo of MT. ZION UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, located at 1334 29TH STREET, NW in Washington, DC. It is considered the oldest black congregation in the District of Columbia. Dissatisfied with their segregation status in the Dumbarton Avenue United Methodist Church, blacks organized this church in 1816. This church established one of the earliest schools for black children and was an active stop on the Underground Railroad. Fleeing slaves were hidden in the nearby Mt. Zion Cemetery. The present site of the church was purchased in 1875. The construction of the building was performed by black workers and church members. The house around the corner was purchased in 1920 by the church and used for meetings and for the city’s first black library. It was restored in 1982 by the church, and is the last standing English-style brick cottage in the district. Also, the FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF GEORGETOWN, located at 27TH AND DUMBARTON AVENUE, NW was founded by a former slave, the Reverend Sandy Alexander, in 1862. First Baptist Church is the earliest known Baptist Church in Georgetown. The congregation worshiped in a building located at 21st & O Streets, NW, before relocating to its present location at 27th and Dumbarton Avenue, NW. Later, in 1870, a sister church, the JERUSALEM BAPTIST CHURCH (formerly known as the Seventh Baptist Church), located at 2600 P STREET, NW, was founded by Reverend Alexander of the First Baptist Church. In 1903, the present red brick building with two magnificent stained glass windows facing P Street was completed and the church was renamed Jerusalem Baptist. (Source ~ The National Park Service).

  

 We finally met up with the rest of the Group at Dean and Deluca where they sell $65.00 chocolates.  Now this building use to be a Slave Market where they used to BUY, SELL, and TRADE slaves. This was a horrible Place Back In the day. According to the Georgetown Metropolitan, the building where Dean and Deluca now stands was a produce market and at other times it was a slave auction house. Eventually it was torn down and replaced in 1865 with the building that stands today. From 1945 until the 1970′s it housed Southern Distributors, an auto parts wholesaler.  By the mid 1970′s it sat empty.  In 1979, Western Development signed a lease with the city to run a farmers market in the building. After about 5 years of struggling, the market closed. It sat empty until 1992 when Dean and Deluca moved in.

 Chipotle..Chipotle... Chipotle.... how much I love you.  Now at this time I was hungry and frustrated about the thing with the group. BUT NOW I WAS AT THE BEST LUNCH SPOT EVER. I got a bowl and devoured it. I tried to savor it in my mouth but I was too hungry.  But the weird thing is that it was not a long line. Normally, the line is out of the building.  But over all, it was fun at Chipotle.  

After the mouth watering Chipotle, we went to the City Tavern.  According to the U.S. History.org,  the City Tavern, also called the Merchant's Coffee House, was the political, social, and business center of the new United States. Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Paul Revere all ate here...very Historical Place.

Now we are at the one of the top five longest bridges in DC, the Key Bridge. At First I thought it was going to be nothing walking across this bridge... Piece of Cake.  But half way there, I realized that I also had to walk back to the other side. I told Amir that I forgot we had to walk back, and he said "How else will we get back FLY?"  We had to take a picture on each side of the bridge.

I tried to entertain myself, but I realized that i just had to make the best of the walk.

 

Finally, we got to the other side, so we took the picture.  There is a line that marks the beginning of DC and Virginia, so I could literally jump from one state to the next.  .....now I'm in DC, Now I'm in VA... Now I'm in D.C., Now I'm in VA....Lol!

Finally we get to our last stop (or so we thought).  Long story short, we walked to the top and took a picture. We almost died trying to get to the top.  There was a weird looking man at the bottom of the steps saying "Trust me no one dies.. it's a myth you can make it."  As Amir tried to climb up the rock on the side of the steps, the "Weird Looking Man" said, "Your shoes don't have enough traction." But we did it.

While we were contemplating on what we could do here, we realized that this was one of the house that John F. Kennedy rented, but not the original house.

Finally, we got to foggy bottom station. We are on are way home.  Despite the late start, I had a good time.  I'll remember the words of  Mrs. Anna next time, "Unity Is Key."