Quotes that I’ll never forget. DC’19

Today in total was one of the most complex days we had since we’ve been on the tour. First we ate breakfast and then headed to the African-American Smithsonian museum. It was honestly a truly enlightning exhibit. I think that the Emmit Till memorial stood out to me the most. It was almost like a funeral. The entire museum evoked so many emotions mostly anger but also sadness. I was angry because the thought that my ancestors had to endure so much pain and trauma for generations. The Emmett till memorial nearly brought tears to my eyes. There was a quote that stood out to me by Lonnie G. Bunch III it said

“There is nothing more powerful than a people, than a nation, steeped in its history. And there are a few things as noble as honoring our ancestors by remembering.“

This quote stood out to me because learning our history is so important in knowing our self and where we come from. Also who is going to come after us and how we can pave the way for future generations? My social justice academy history teacher always says “No history, no self, know history know self.”

After the Smithsonian we then met up with the National Football League players Association. It was a truly great experience.

I learned so much about player rights and how the association advocates for their benefits for former, active, and future players. Our tour guides name was Mikal he was very good-looking and he’s from Philadelphia. he started off as an intern and eventually was promoted. we met two former players named Jake and Ifeani too They were huge and very kind and greeted us with open arms. We met a man named Brandon who has been on on the player services team for 2 years. Also we met Ayanna who also has been on the player services team for about 2 years. Something interesting that I learned with that Marshawn Lynch is the only player in the NFL to start a licensing deal with the NFLPA. Brandon said

“Strive to find your authentic self and don’t be afraid to promote yourself”.

We also met Dexter Santos who is the vice president of marketing for the NFLPA. Something he said that stood out to me was

“Ask yourself what kind of mark do you want to leave”. Don’t underestimate the power of relationships. It’s not about what you know it’s about who you know and how much they like you.“

This connects to me because I am deciding if  I want to be a politician or a Supreme Court Justice and within those roles it is important to have connections and build relationships and allies to gain support!