Welcome educational travelers!
How was your Thanksgiving holiday? I trust that everyone had a wonderful time that was filled with good friends, the love of family, and delicious food!
Can you believe that the first day of December is knocking on our doorstep and that the holiday season is now in full swing?! It’s crazy how fast this year has flown by. Be sure to check back on the blog frequently next month as there’ll be special holiday themed educational posts. In the meantime, we have another post from one of our guest writers, Jeff.
Enjoy!
Educational trips and student trips to Washington, D.C. are not complete without a visit to the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, which is located on Vermont Avenue just south of Lincoln Theater. The facility dates back to 1999, opening just a year after the African American Civil War Memorial, which was dedicated in recognition of the largely unknown story of the contribution of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) to the war effort a century and a half ago. Only one percent of the North was African American when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Yet, over ten percent of the Union Army and twenty-five percent of its Navy would be filled by African Americans after President Lincoln signed a legislation in 1862 permitting their involvement.
The museum is located in the historic U Street Corridor, which is a neighborhood that is widely considered the center for African American entertainment and theatre in our nation’s capital. The museum allows students and teachers to view numerous photographs, newspaper articles from the day, as well as replicas of period clothing, uniforms, and weaponry from the Civil War era. The museum is also a wonderful place for researchers and visitors, who may be descendants of the USCT, to better understand their ancestors stories. The museum carries a descendent registry that documents the family trees of more than 2,000 descendants of those men who served with the USCT. Visitors can easily search the database to find ancestors and relatives who are registered.
Educational tours of the museum are scheduled every day but Monday and communicate the story of the USCT through photographs, artifacts, documents, seminars by staff, and volunteer re-enactors who bring to life the exciting and dangerous fight of over two hundred thousand African-American men and women who fought for freedom in the Civil War. As I mentioned above, the U Street Corridor is home to not only the museum and memorial, but also to Howard University. It is an artistic hub of music, theatre, and art along with a variety of new businesses and restaurants. Making it an ideal location for a full day of sightseeing on a student tour!
Your student trip to Washington, D.C. will be more complete if the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum is included on your educational itinerary.
Until next time,
Jeff.