Exploring Ethiopian Culture on U Street

"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph." Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia

Alright, another Metro Journey underway. So when I first got off of the metro at 9:03 I saw no one and thought, "OH NO THERE'RE GONNA BE LATE AGAIN." So I went in Starbucks and got some hot chocolate because it was 35 degrees outside... 5 minutes later I ran into Jocelyn, Eliza, and Nadia and we ended up waiting for every one else. Next came Ananda who had the wonderful notes about Ethiopian culture so we could go on with our Metro Journey. Next came Gyasi and Kai. So we all waited another 5 minutes and Leslie showed up.  So began our historic journey down the famous U Street in Washington, D.C., home to the largest group of Ethiopians outside of Africa.  According to the Ethiopian Embassy, more than 200, 000 Ethiopians reside in DC.  Ethiopia is unique because it has the proud distinction of being the only African country that was never colonized.  Hailie Selassie I was the last Emperior and the most famous leader of Ethiopia.  He also inspired the Rastafarian Movement in Jamaica.  According to www.religion.com, "followers of the Rastafari movement are known as Rastafarians, Rastafaris, Rastas, or Ras Tafarians. The movement is named for Ras Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia in 1930." To many Rastas, he is God of the Black race.

   

 

Even though our focus was Ethiopia, we had to stop for a group photo at historic Ben's Chili Bowl.  I didn't want to eat chili fries at 10 am in the morning, but I took one for the team. When we realized that everyone couldn't eat beef, such as myself and Ananda, we decided to try a veggie chili.  It was not that great, but we ate it.  My dad has been coming to Ben's Chili Bowl since I was a baby.  So I knew basically everyone there.  A nice waitress gave us bacon and eggs, which I did not know was pork until it was in my stomach.  Uh, oh!


But Ben's Chili Bowl is more than just a place to eat.  It's a part of DC history.  You can tell from the pictures of famous people that line the walls.  The history of Ben's Chili Bowl is so important that a book was written about it.  Here's an excerpt:

"It was the summer of 1958. Eisenhower was president. Federal troops were ordered into Little Rock, Arkansas to aid in the integration of public schools. Explorer I was launched, as was NASA. The first-ever Grammy Awards were given, and Ella Fitzgerald won two of them.  That same year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. published his first book, Stride Toward Freedom. Griffith Stadium was home to the Washington Senators, and 30% of D.C.'s black population owned homes. Nelson Mandela wed Winnie. And, in 1958, newlyweds Ben and Virginia Ali gave birth to a new enterprise.  Despite a national business failure rate of 55.9%, the Ali’s used $5,000 to begin renovating the building at 1213 U Street. It had high-arched ceilings, character, and plenty of history. Built in 1910, it first housed a silent movie theater called the Minnehaha Theater. Later, Harry Beckley, one of D.C.’s first Black police detectives, converted it into a pool hall.

On Aug. 22, 1958, Ben’s Chili Bowl opened for business.  It was an exciting time on the U Street corridor, which was then known as "Black Broadway." Top performers could be found playing sets in clubs along the corridor, as well as eating and just hanging out at Ben’s. It was not uncommon to see such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Martin  Luther King Jr., Donny Hathaway, Roy Ayers or Bill Cosby at "The Bowl.”  In 1968, the assassination of Dr. King lit a fuse of rage. Riots ensued. Most of the city closed down. Ben’s remained open.  Stokely Carmichael of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was located across the street, obtained special police permission to allow Ben’s to stay open after curfew to provide food and shelter for activists, firefighters and public servants desperately trying to restore order."  To read more, click here.

Next stop, one of the most famous Ethiopian restaurants in DC - Dukem.  Dukem Restaurant is owned by brothers Tefera and Getachew Zewdie.  Dukem (pronounced DUK-em) is named after a small city found south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.

This is a sit down Ethiopian restaurant. The food was...interesting. I'm a very picky eater, so I just got a basic chicken wrap. Even that was much spicier than I could handle.

As a part of our Metro Journey, we had to interview people from Ethiopia. At Dukem, we interviewed out first Ethiopian, Zizi, our waitress. These were the answers to the questions we asked her:

• She has been living in the US for 4 years. It took her about 5 years to gain citizenship.
• She is an orthodox Christian, always has been. (as are most Ethiopians).
• It is both parents' responsibility to care for the children (as it used to be the woman's).
• The discipline for the son is the same for the daughter.
• She does wear the traditional Gabbi and Netella (type of material) same as church clothes.
• She still celebrates the making of coffee regularly (roasting the beans herself, grinding them, enjoying with family).
• While Eritrea and Ethiopia used to be the same in some ways, the countries are very different now. The food, clothing, languages, are different. You used to be born into what career you would do. Now you can choose your life path.
• She told us about Haili Selassie, the first Ethiopian President/King. Everyone loved him because it was a peaceful time when he ruled. He protected the country, along with the culture. He was mourned when he passed. People still sing about him today.

She didn't want to take a picture with us, but she was very nice and was patient with all our questions and answered them in depth.

Also, as a part of our journey we had to visit another famous U Street destination - Bus Boys and Poet's Book store. But first we had to perform. So we performed for an hour.... everybody was doing something but me. So I improvised.  Since we were not getting any money, I started going up to people telling them about the class and what we were doing and that we were a group of homeschoolers, not bums asking for money.  It worked! We made about $13, just enough to buy coffee.

According to the Busboys and Poet's website, the bookstore is a community place where "racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted...a place to take a deliberate pause and feed your mind, body and soul...a space for art, culture and politics to intentionally collide."

The founder of  Bus Boys and poets is an Iraqi-American who is now running for Mayor.  His name is Anas "Andy" Shallal and he believes in social justice.  He wants Bus Boys and Poets to be a gathering place for artists, activists, writers, thinkers and dreamers.  He named the bookstore and restaurant after the famous American poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel in the 1920s.

Inside of the flagship location on 14th Street is painted the giant civil rights movement-themed mural covering one wall of the restauarant, titled Peace in Struggle Wall. Civil Rights icons, such as  Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela are depicted on the mural. It features the words of Langston Hughes, "Let America be America again / Let it be the dream it used to be."

 So now our last stop. Since we did not find the coffee shop we were supposed to visit (it doesn't exist anymore and has been transformed into a house), we found Ethiopian coffee elsewhere. I never liked coffee in the first place, but I tried this coffee. It was VERY STRONG! I couldn't drink more than one sip.  I passed it up, but it still was worth it.


Great job Mrs Anna for another great Metro Journey, keep them coming!!!!!!