"It takes one generation to forget, and it takes two generations to forget they forgot."
We began at the Thurgood Marshall Center . This building was former home to the first full service YMCA for African Americans, founded in 1853, and it was actually designed by one of the nation's first African American architects W. Sydney Pittman. Building began in 1908 and ceased in 1912, and for 70 years hosted young African Americans as they learned about leadership and responsibility through sports, camping, photography, and many more activities.
Thurgood Marshall, a young attorney, was a frequent visitor as he fashioned legal strategies for the civil rights movement. In 2000, the building was reopened as the Thurgood Marshall Center in honor of the first African American Associate Justice to serve on the Supreme Court. This center now serves as a community center for residents along the U Street Corridor and Shaw neighborhoods and the starting place on the Egypt on the Potomac "field trip."
While riding the bus to our first stop, we learned about the meaningful construction of Washington DC. Washington DC was first constructed as a ten mile square/ diamond. When you look at the map now, you probably will notice that a part of the square is now Alexandria, Virginia, so DC is more like a shoe, or an awkward triangle, or whatever comes to mind but long story short, it's not a square. (If you want to learn more about why DC is no longer a square, you should scroll down to the Metro Journey where we went to Historic Alexandria.) Washington DC was first mapped out by Andrew Elliot, a Caucasian man, and a famous African American scientist, Benjamin Banneker. Banneker was the nation's first black scientist, who also made a living as a mathematician and farmer. His grandfather was named Banneka, and it is believed that Banneka was from Mali where he studied in depth the stars as he was a descendant of royal lineage. During the construction of DC, Banneker alongside Elliot was to start in the North, walk 10 miles to the East, walk 10 miles to the South, walk ten miles to the west, then walk 10 miles to the North to where they started making the 10 mile square using the stars for direction. Isn't it weird that Benjamin Banneker played a monumental part in the placement of our Nation's Capital being an accomplished astronomer and all, yet he isn't recognized properly as the main designer of our famous city? However, Christopher Columbus so- called 'founded' America, even though people were already positioned here, and he accidentally stumbled upon this land, and he gets a National holiday?
Before we continue, I would like to point out that in a name is power. Changing something or someone's name destroys the meaning, symbolism, and strength of it so on the field trip, our facilitator introduced us to the proper names of Ancient Kemet's symbols, and what they mean.
Common Name
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Proper Name
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Meaning/ Symbolism
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Egypt
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Kemet
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The Black Land
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Pyramid
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Amir (AMR)
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N/A
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Obelisk (Washington Monument)
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Tkn (Pl.-Tknu)
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N/A
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One (1)
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N/A
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God
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Two (2)
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N/A
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Man and Woman
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Three (3)
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N/A
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Child/Trinity
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Four (4)
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N/A
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Foundation
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Five (5)
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N/A
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Man/Mind
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Six (6)
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N/A
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Death
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Seven (7)
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N/A
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Heaven/Spiritual Resurrection
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Sun East
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Kepra
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Birth
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Sun (highest point)
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Ray
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N/A
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Sun West
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Amen
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Death
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Now we can go to our first stop, which is Meridian Hill Park on 16th street. This park's symbolism is going to blow your mind! First let's look at 16th street. 1+6=7. What's the meaning of seven according to Ancient Kemet? Heaven or Resurrection! Did you know that this street is sometimes called Avenue of Churches? But that's not all; this street is exactly 7.7 miles long and ends at the White House. Also, did you know that DC is positioned exactly on longitude line 77? Crazy, right?
Before we go back to Meridian Hill Park, I would like to tell you the Ancient Kemet story of the Ancient god Osar. This god married a woman named Auset, or commonly known my the Greeks and Romans as Isis. Osar was a very successful ruler of Kemet, teaching his people laws, education, architecture, and other prosperous skills. He was adored by his people, but his evil brother, Set, was jealous. Set murdered his brother and managed to cut his body into 14 pieces scattering them all over Egypt. Auset managed to find all of them, except the 14th, which was the phallus. She assembled the 13 pieces of his body making the first mummy.
At the time of Osar's death, he did not have any children, but mystically Auset was impregnated by her husband, and she had a son named Heru, or Horus according to the Romans and Greeks, and who was raised secretly to protect him from his Uncle Set, who was now the ruler of Kemet.
As soon as Heru grew to be a man, he challenged his Uncle for the throne, and after many battles he avenged his father and regained the throne of Egypt. During the many battles, Set snatched out the Eye of Heru and threw it into the celestial ocean where it was found later and used as a guide for Osar to find his way to the afterlife. The Eye of Heru was used to signify protection on mummies' journeys to the afterlife. The End.
Have you ever noticed that the number 13 is seen as a curse? Friday the 13th, which just passed, was feared by many across the nation. It is nationally seen as an unlucky number. Why would society teach us that if they don't believe that number's cursed too? "What?" you might ask. Let's evaluate this. If you have a dollar bill nearby, go and get it. America started with how many colonies? 13! E Pluribus Unum. How many letters are in that Latin motto? Look at the eagle on your dollar bill, how many arrows is he clutching? How many leaves are on the olive branch? How many olives are on the olive branch? How many levels on Amr? Wait, wait, wait...how many of her husband's body parts did Auset find? 13! What's positioned at the top of the Amr? An eye? Mummies are normally buried in Amrs, so it can be concluded that the 13 levels of the Amr on the dollar bill signify the Osar's 13 parts, and the eye on top represents the Eye of Heru, protection.
Also the Cascading Waterfalls found in Meridian Hill Park has 13 pools. Whaaaaaaaat? So many 13's considering that 13 is an unlucky number. 
Next we went to the Masonic Temple located on 2800 16th street at the intersection of the 1500 block of Harvard and Columbia. Free Masonry is all about a free spirit, a builder of consciousness. It takes between 40-42 years to become a priest, and this time is spent "building your character." Priests are trained for the good of the nation. In fact all of our Presidents were free Masons. Fun fact about where this temple is located. What's 28 plus 16? 44. What president went to both Harvard and Columbia? Barack Obama, who is, mind you, the 44th president. Pre- planned or nah? Masons all study in Africa, and when they become a 33rd, or highest degree Mason, they are considered African. Yes, even Caucasian Masons. On this temple are two signs at the entrance; on the east, there is a picture of a sun and on the west is a picture of a Jewish Star. This signifies on the east (Kemet) comes knowledge and on the west, (America) comes the law. 
A block down the street is a 33rd degree Mason Temple. It has 33 columns and is 33 feet high. The two sphinx positioned outside of this temple are a copy of the original sphinx originating in Kemet. The head of the sphinx represent feminine energy, in other words looking within, while the body of sphinx, a lion, represents masculine energy; knowledge is power. There are 13 blocks between these two temples, the white house, and the monument. There's that 13 number again.
Riding several blocks down you will arrive at the end of 16th street where the White House is now positioned. Did you know that a slave market was positioned in Lafayette Park, right in front of the White House?
Behind the White House is the Washington Monument. This symbol is what? A tnku, symbolizing Osar's phallus. It is 515 feet high, and each side of its base is 55 ft. What does the number five represent? The concept of man or mind. Did you know that every king in Kemet was given 5 names, 5 representations of themselves? Inside the monument positioned on the elevator is a Heru Badette, a symbol representing knowing thyself. It is pictured as a sun disc with a serpent's head.
Our second to last stop on the tour was L'Enfant Plaza. This plaza obviously was named after Charles L'Enfant. He was a french man hired to design the interior of DC. Apparently, the nation had problems with this man. He had a temper and was an extreme alcoholic. He was eventually fired, so my manz Benjamin Banneker was hired to finish his work. Don't you think Banneker should have received homage for his work on DC? If it wasn't for him D.C. would not have been established. Do you know that Charles L'Enfant got a metro station as well as a plaza named in his honor, and Banneker received a cul-de-sac with a fountain in the back of the plaza? How deliberate is that?
After riding through the plaza, we journeyed back to the Thurgood Marshall Center to find symbolism on the Library of Congress. Around the doors of the library there are symbols telling a story. Basically, the story starts in Africa and moves to America. It shows how everything began in Africa, and it is right in front of our eyes, but we do not pay attention to that. Furthermore, surrounding the building are 44 heads representing the believed at that time 44 races of the world. In the east are the 4 African races, and on the west of the building are the 4 Caucasian races. That sounds familiar. In the east is knowledge, and in the west in the law.
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| With Anthony Browder Author of several books including Egypt on the Potomac and Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization, |
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| Our Field Trip Facilitator, J Pourzal |
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| Anthony Browder's Daughter, Atlantis Tye. |
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