The rail journey begins

Jarvis Harris, left, and Joe Foss on one of the many Amtrak coaches that carried them across America.

Courtesy of Joe & Jarvis.

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. 

After a full day driving from Philly to Baltimore, visiting two museums there, we drove back to Johnny and Verna’s home in Yorktown, Virginia. Johnny and Verna provided us great hospitality, including the opportunity for us to do our laundry before we headed out on the first segment of our rail tour from Williamsburg to Washington, D.C., and then on to Atlanta.

Jarvis and Joe, l-r, standing at Fort Monroe, in Hampton, Va., where the first enslaved Africans landed in 1619, in what later become the United States.

Courtesy of Joe & Jarvis

We were also very grateful to them for loaning us a car for us to drive north.  Once back in Yorktown, we had an extra day to catch Amtrak to Atlanta via D.C., so Johnny offered to take us to Fort Monroe to see that and the location of the first slave landing in 1619.

Jarvis Harris is loading up at the Snack Zone at Dollar Store in Yorktown, Va.

Courtesy of Joe & Jarvis

Junk food for train rides

Joe: Besides doing our laundry, another necessary errand to prepare for the rail journey called for us to stock up on some snacks. Honestly, this was my first time in a Dollar Store — I did not realize they had such a significant snack selection in travel-sized packages of all name-branded snacks. We each picked up what we wanted for the rail trip and left the store having spent a grand total of about $15, so we made out like bandits. I will be using the Dollar Store in the future for snacks and more.

Jarvis: Our first trip on the train was from Williamsburg, Virginia, to Washington, D.C.  It was interesting since this seems to be a regular mode of transportation up and down the East Coast.  It didn’t have some of the amenities like the panoramic views or the option of picking seats, as it was pretty crowded.  Once we got to D.C., though, Union Station was the most impressive one we experienced on the trip! It had everything (except Dunkin' Donuts)! There was shopping, boutiques and food courts. This made our layover there enjoyable and entertaining as well.

One of the Amtrak employees, B. Jackson, went above and beyond to assist and show us around Union Station.

We headed out to Atlanta on a 14-hour trip from D.C., our first overnight train ride.

Amtrak’s trains are pretty comfortable. The seats recline further than the ones on a plane. You have more legroom and a footrest is available. There is a dining car available, and it’s pretty inexpensive.  There are also observation cars with seats that face out to watch the scenery as the train is traveling. The windows are panoramic, so it’s great for taking it all in.

Along the way, we encountered people on the trains and in the stations who noticed our hats or shirts, and were interested in what we were doing. 

It made the trips much more enjoyable to share with them what we encountered and discovered along the way.

Sometimes, we would even get recommendations or suggestions of where to go and what to see. 

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.