Today is our ninth Metro Journey. Kinda short and sweet, but spread out. I was very frustrated that I had received an email about 11:00 p.m. the night before saying that we are meeting at 8:30 a.m., instead of 10:00 a.m. (interrupting my beauty sleep). But hey, I had to get up and handle my business.
First stop Library of Congress. I never knew that there were 33 Ethnological Heads total on the top of the Library of Congress Building representing different races of people, such as African American, Caucasian, Asian, etc.These heads faced North, South, East, West. To find the African head, we had to go to the south.
The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in
1800, when President John Adams signed a bill providing for the transfer
of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of
Washington. The legislation described a reference library for Congress
only, containing such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.
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| These are the Three African American Heads |
According to noted historical and Egyptologist Tony Browder,
in his book Egypt on the Potomac, he writes, “There are “Thirty Three” Busts of
the 33 Cultures that create Humanity carved into the exterior of the Temple. Thirty Three is a Powerful Esoteric number. Jesus was 33 years old when he ascended to
Heaven. There are 33 degrees in Scottish
Rite Freemasonry. The are 33 steps to
Ascend into the US Capitol Dome.”
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| Here we are just Chillin' |
Our next stop The Thurgood Marshall center, where Amir participates with the organization Critical Exposure. When we arrived here we found out that this place was the key to all of our information, such as the Ethnological Heads on the Library of Congress, and how the the monument structured was a copy of the Egyptian obelisk. According to the Thurgood Marshall Center website, the Thurgood Marshall Center is located in the historic Twelfth Street YMCA building, the former home of the first full service YMCA for African Americans in the nation. It was designed by one of the nation's first African-American architects, W. Sidney Pittman, son-in-law of Booker T. Washington, and was built largely by African-American artisans. Construction started in 1908 and was completed in 1912. For seventy years, this building was a haven and an inspiration for young African-American men. These men learned leadership and responsibility through sports, camping, photography, and many enriching activities.
According to the Thurgood Marshall Center, through the years, youth from the community were engaged in many constructive activities led by mentors who volunteered their time. In this building, African-American community groups and social clubs convened when segregation excluded them from hotels and other public meeting places. The building was a focal point of the Shaw Community, including the popular U Street Corridor, as it turned hopes into reality. The young attorney, Thurgood Marshall, was a frequent visitor as he designed legal strategies for the Civil Rights Movement. Some of the people who visited the Thurgood Marshall Center include medical pioneer Dr. Charles Drew, lawyer Charles Houston, former Georgetown University Coach John Thompson, writer Langston Hughes and many others who were encouraged by the services at the Y and who went on to enrich the lives of many others around the nation.
Our next stop was Malcolm X Park. On one of our previous Metro Journeys we found a Japanese store that sells really good sodas. Before heading to Malcolm X Park, we stopped there and got more of those inexpensive, sweet, delicious soda treats. As you can see Eliza is quenching her thirst. Then we came back to the park to have a drinking picnic because nobody had food.
According to the Meridian Hill Park website, Meridian Hill is a structured urban park located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights in the United States. The park has also been unofficially known as "Malcolm X Park." The 12 acre (49,000 m²) formally landscaped site is maintained by the National Park Service as a part of Rock Creek Park, but is not contiguous with that much larger nearby park. Meridian Hill Park is bordered by 15th, 16th, W, and Euclid Streets NW, and sits on a prominent hill 1.5 miles (2.42 km) directly north of the White House. The park was designed and built between 1912 and 1940.A central feature of Meridian Hill Park is the thirteen-basin Cascading Waterfall in the lower-level formal garden. The fountains are designed with a recirculating water system which, through an elaborate series of pumps, supplies water to two large circular fountains on the upper level, and cascade found on the lower. The many walls and stairways of the site's composition add variety to the park, and because the central structure is on an a hillside, some of the stairways are rather dramatic. The park also contains well-designed textured-concrete benches and urns, and patterned-concrete walkways.The park plan conceived by Burnap and Peaslee was one composed to depict a formal Italian garden. The actual planting scheme was designed by New York landscape architects Vitale, Brinckerhoff, and Geiffert. In the past, gardens of this scope were generally reserved for aristocrats, but Meridian Hill Park, a product of democracy, was made for all people.
Our next stop was to go to the Scottish Rite Temple. This place is so beautiful.
I wanted to go inside, but I couldn't figure out how to enter. But Amir kept telling me it was a side entrance. What is the Scottish Rite?
According to the Scottish Rite of Free Masonry website, the Scottish Rite is
a Masonic organization that continues a Master Mason’s education of the first
three degrees. Other examples of Masonic
affiliated organizations are: The Shrine (Shriners); York Rite; Grotto; Eastern
Star, DeMolay International, Job’s Daughter’s, International Order of Rainbow
for Girls and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon.
The Scottish Rite consists of the 4°–32° and an honorary 33°, which is
awarded for exceptional service.
Freemasonry is not a religion or a secret society, according to the
website. In order to become a member,
you just ask as mason how to become one.
There are many symbols that are a part of freemasonry. What do all the symbols mean? The most common symbol people see is the
square and compasses. The square reminds Masons to “square” their actions by
the “square of virtue,” and the compasses remind them to “circumscribe” their
passions. In other words, Masons are
reminded to keep their actions virtuous and their passions in control. Additionally, in the U.S. there is usually a
“G” in the middle of the square and compass symbol. This letter stands for
“geometry” and “God” and reminds Masons that geometry was central to the stone
mason’s life as God should be to his, according to the website.
