Month: June 2018

Last week I enjoyed a visit to the Washington D.C. area. While I enjoyed seeing the usual historic sites such as the White House, the Capital, the Pentagon and the Washington Monument (and taking photos); what interested me the most was the blend of different urban areas that make up the D.C. Metro Area. It’s not just D.C. itself, but other vibrant cities that are all accessible to D.C. by Metro trains. For example, we stayed in Pentagon City and visited Crystal City, Arlington and Dupont Circle (to name a few). I hope you enjoy the view too…………………………………!

Ronald Reagan International Airport – D.C.

The Washington Monument

The Whitehouse

Trump International Hotel Tower

Trump International Hotel Tower – Interior

The View from the top of Trump International Hotel and Tower

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

D.C. Protest

The Capital

Benjamin Franklin Statue

Smithsonian Castle

 

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka Kansas on June 7, 1917, but moved to Chicago as a young child. She made Chicago her home base and her true home in every sense of the word. As a child growing up on Chicago’s South Side she would sit on her porch and write poetry and stories, and as an African American woman living on Chicago’s South Side in the mid-20th century, she saw the struggles that African Americans endured and these struggles are what she wrote about.

Gwendolyn Brooks achieved a lot of firsts in her lifetime. She was the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize; the first to be a poetry consultant to the Library of Congress, and she served as Illinois poet laureate for over 30 years. Some of her works include: “Annie Allen” – a collection of poetry about a black girl becoming a woman while encountering racism and other difficulties of urban life. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for this collection; “A Street in Bronzeville”; “Maud Martha”; “In The Mecca”; “Riot”; and “Aloneness”. Through these works and many others, Brooks showed that poetry and writing could change the world and make it a better place.

Her legacy continues and she is still achieving firsts. Last Thursday (on what would have been her 101st birthday) Gwendolyn Brooks was honored with a statue and memorial at Brooks Park in North Kenwood on South Greenwood Avenue. She is the first Chicago African American poet honored with a statue and memorial in a Chicago public park. The statue was done by sculptor Margot McMahon. Ms. McMahon worked closely with Gwendolyn Brooks daughter to design a statue of Brooks that would meaningfully portray and preserve her legacy. It is a statue of the poet and the porch she wrote on as a child.

     

      

• Photos are from Wikipedia (unless otherwise specified)

Phillips Park is the largest park in the City of Aurora. It spans approximately 325 acres and contains a zoo, golf course, aquatic center, sunken garden, dog park, mastodon trail, boat dock, skate park and volleyball court.

Phillips Park was first designated as a park in 1899 and it was named Phillips Park in 1902. The park has undergone major renovations over the years to make it the “crown jewel” of parks that it is today!

I enjoyed a beautiful morning there this weekend. I went to the visitor center and the sunken garden, and a small part of the zoo. Below are some photos from my visit. Enjoy!