Jarvis Harris and Joe Foss are telling local audiences about their five-week, 4,600-mile tour of Black historical sites across the United States last fall. For additional insights into their journey and anti-racist work, please visit their website, AcceptingOthers.com.
From Philadelphia, the next stop for Jarvis and Joe was The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore.
Jarvis: I’d been there before about 10 years ago. It was such an awesome and moving experience. I was truly looking forward to revisiting and sharing with Joe.
We got there and were disappointed that it is kind of in disrepair. They are gathering funds to do some remodeling and upgrades. We still walked through the replica of a slave ship. And many of their wax figures and exhibits were still up.
We looked up and found Baltimore had another museum not far away. So we went to see The Reginald F. Lewis Museum. It more than made up for our disappointment.
The Lewis Museum helped us see plainly, and on a smaller scale, what slavery and the struggle was like in just this state. It also told of the triumphs and great accolades of Blacks and people from Maryland.
We had great discussions of all we’d learned and experienced so far on our trip by car, once we left Maryland. We were excited to start the actual train portion of this trip.
We probably added a few pounds, too. We had real Philly cheesesteaks. No, not from Pat’s or Geno’s! We got real ones from neighborhood stores. Oh, and I filled my cravings every chance I got for Dunkin' Donuts. Joe got to experience a stromboli, also.
From Baltimore, we drove back to Yorktown, Virginia to return Johnny and Verna’s car.
Jarvis Harris, of Lacey, is a retired U.S. Army veteran and former Pierce County corrections officer who now dedicates his time to personal passions and volunteering. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he settled in Lacey during his Army service.
Joe Foss, of Tacoma, is a Navy veteran and retired business owner who has been actively engaged in projects addressing racism in America since 2012.
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Mcb147
Thanks for sharing slices of life
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Snevets
This sounded like a well rounded experience.
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JulesJames
Envious as heck of your adventure! Hope you head to Houston and give a report on the Houston Mutiny of 1917. An awful story that needs to be shared and digested without outrage clouding the lessons from this loss.
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