By Prince Jamerson
During my freshman year at Pacific Lutheran University, I had the opportunity to study in Washington, D.C. during the presidential inauguration. Being an African American man, I thought about not going due to safety concerns. But my mother encouraged me to go because it was a historic moment and there aren’t many opportunities to travel during an inauguration season.
It turned out to be a very interesting experience and I learned a great deal.
When we landed, I could tell it was going to be an eventful two weeks. There were marches everywhere. I saw red banners, signs, trucks, and hats, all displaying the same motto, along with the president’s face and other sayings.
Road closures, military personnel, and officers were stationed at every corner, surveying and keeping a watchful eye. Many of the marches were pro-life, Republican, and anti-liberal, while only a few advocated for transgender rights, racial justice, and educational equity. The school and program didn’t allow us to participate due to safety reasons.
At times, I did feel nervous being there, but with my friends and supporters with me, I felt much more comfortable wherever I went. Thankfully, I was never stopped, harassed, or talked to by many people at all. They had their own agenda, and I had mine.
The POLS J-Term Washington D.C. group in front of the Lincoln Memorial. #LutesinDC (Photo courtesy of Prince Jamerson)
The day before, day of, and day after the inauguration were very, very busy. People from everywhere came to support the presidential ceremony. Balls and galas were being thrown all week, with people from other countries exploring the city, even some from my hometown of Tacoma, Washington.
On inauguration day, a group of us students and our teacher planned to attend the ceremony. We woke up at 4:00 a.m., got in the lines at around 6:00 a.m., and waited there until 10:00 a.m. It was a very long, cold, boring four hours.
Then as we got closer to the front of the lines, we discovered that no bags were allowed, no matter the size. It was disappointing, but as a group we decided not to go into the area because we didn’t want to have to throw away our smaller bags. We would be in there for hours with no food and we were already very tired.
We ended up watching the inauguration and the other ceremonies on a TV in our hotel. We had the next day to ourselves to do whatever we wanted to do due to the hectic-ness and business of the inauguration day.
The Supreme Court Building (Photo courtesy of Prince Jamerson)
Some of my best D.C. experiences were visiting museums and seeing the local architecture. My favorite museums were the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The African American museum was very moving. I’ve learned about slavery and the slave trade all my life, but seeing a museum with a large exhibit full of artifacts and rooms of knowledge was amazing.
I especially loved seeing the pop culture and music section with instruments, outfits, and vinyl records that were all owned by Black artists. As a Black man, I found it fascinating to see so much of my people’s history in one place–it made me want to learn even more about my culture.
I found it fascinating to see so much of my people’s history in one place.
In the Smithsonian museum, I was amazed by all the dinosaur fossils and animal exhibits. As a kid, I was in love with all things prehistoric, so seeing those fossils felt like a dream come true. But even when I was outside walking around D.C., the historic churches, government buildings from long ago, and large marble statues everywhere made it feel like I was in a living museum.
I thought the architecture of all of the older buildings, like the monuments and official congress legal buildings, were beautiful and captivating. They captured my attention the most. I loved the statues and buildings of giant marble in the style of Roman architecture. It made me realize that these statues and monuments were built to outlast generations for all to see.
Overall, my D.C. experience was amazing. It was always busy wherever we went, whether it was to museums, national monuments, tours, and even restaurants. I would definitely want to visit again in the future.
Prince Jamerson is a second year student at Pacific Lutheran University, pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts of Acting and Directing Theatre, and a second major in history with an education focus. He is a part of Seed Teachers Cadre 2 with the plan of becoming a high school theatre teacher. He is from Tacoma, Washington and graduated from Tacoma Public Schools’ Science and Math Institute (SAMi) and Tacoma School of the Arts (SotA).
Featured image: Prince Jamerson outside of the National Archives. (Photo courtesy of Prince Jamerson)
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