Sunday, March 18, 2007

Two Days In D.C.


This is my attempt to do some traditional blogging, and share what has been happening in the fields world for the last couple of days. I just got back from Washington D.C. where I met two of my best friends from law school. My boy Tony (Yes he is still a house negro who prefers to prosecute only blacks folks, but I am working on him), and Ced. They were in town for the National Association for Equal Opportunity In Higher Education (NAFEO) conference, and invited your boy down to hang out.

So I headed down Friday night in blizzard like conditions, and unfortunately, what should have been a two hour ride, took me damn near three and a half hours. But it was worth the trip. When I got to the Hyatt on H street my boys were all hanging out in the hotel lobby and shooting the breeze with other delegates from the conference. My man Tony was talking to Judge Reggie Walton (Remember him? He presided over the Scooter Libby trial) a cool guy, who although he was appointed by George Bush, seems to have his head and heart firmly in the fields. Don't ask how I know for sure, but let's just say the good Judge likes his Remy Martins. So the field chatted with him for a minute, I made sure I complimented him on how he conducted the trial. I always believed that a good Judge should be like a good referee in a basketball game; you shouldn't even notice he is there. Once you start noticing the Judge-insert the idiot from the Anna Nicole trial here-you know there is a problem.

So that was really cool meeting my man. Not to mention all that other brothers and sisters there from various corporations and government entities. All folks who were involved with programs to help mentor and guide young minority students. So being down there with all those positive well meaning people was nice. The NAFEO people seem to really have their sh** together.

Even though I was tired from my drive down, I still found time to hang out in D.C. Friday night with another one of my buddies from law school, who has made the District his home. Gino is a Republican, and my man started his own political consulting firm down there. Needless to say, we argued about all types of sh** the entire fu****g night. In the end though, we both agreed to disagree. We later went to the water front section of town and were supposed to go to a spot called H2O's (Hey what else are you going to call a spot on the waterfront?) But there was a serious line to get in, and the field doesn't do lines too well. So we hit some other spot (Ozios [sic]) until it was time to call it a night.

The next day was better. We toured the Smithsonian, watched the anti war protest, (the field heckled some pro war protesters. (Why is it that the pro war protesters always seem to remind me of the anti civil rights protesters of past years?) Then my boys, (Ced and Tony) decided that they wanted to trace their roots. So we headed to the National Archives museum, and although they seemed to really get into it, yours truly spent damn near three hours doing nothing. My peeps are from Jamaica, and unfortunately there was no record of them there. But Tony and Ced's research paid off and they got some nice info on their people and were able to trace their family histories back to the late 1800's.

Finally, we went back to the hotel, where my man Ced and I argued about the importance of appearance to young black males. A discussion brought on by some young heads in full hip hop regalia lounging in the hotel lobby. I thought it was cool if they wore their jeans slightly baggy with some Tims now and then. Ced, a military brat, did not. He thought those mother f*****s should have their sh** together at all times. "You never know when a future employer might be looking". We hung out later in a sports bar, watched the NCAA's and toasted with some St. Patty's day revelers. I like D.C., always have, I get a nice vibe every time I am down there. There were some dime pieces in the house, and the field made some small talk with a dime or two, nothing serious, just enjoying the view more than anything else. A sister from the conference joined us, and we talked about every thing from the problems facing black people, and America as a whole, to the unique challenges and responsibilities we all have as black professionals and mentors, just trying to make sure that our future generation does not get lost.

So now it's Sunday morning, and the field is heading up I-95. I Just dropped my boys off at Reagan Airport (damn I hate saying that!)for their trip back to Louisiana. It's a beautiful morning; hard to believe that just two days ago, there was rain, sleet, and snow, whipping all over the freaking highway. But unlike my trip on Friday, this is going to be a beautiful ride home. I am blasting my man Buju Banton on the CD player, and I am enjoying the sun and the fact that spring is just a few days away. I am thinking about all the positive people I met at the conference, and all of the great ideas they had. I am thinking about my boys and the s**t we always get into when we hook up. (You didn't think I told you everything did you?).


"..When mama spend her last and send you go class never ever you play. It's a competitive world for low budget people, spending a dime while earning a nickel"

I wonder when Buju will drop his next album? His sh** is sounding real good right about now.

12 comments:

dnA said...

I live in DC. Whenever someone tries to call it "Washington Reagan National Aiport" I just point out that the damn thing already has a president's name on it, and it ain't Reagan.

I still just call it "National Aiport".

Sylvia said...

Sounds like you had a great time, though I see I have to tell people off who are stingy with the stories... *two snaps* :-p

"National Airport" works fine for me, too. There's no need to use the "R" word if we don't have to. On the other hand, I prefer Thurgood Marshall Airport to any other name for what was formerly BWI. ;)

Tasha said...

Glad you had a good time here. I always got a good vibe from DC, so I got my nomad on and moved here, lol.

About that Reagan Airport, I always call it National Airport as well--that seems to be a consensus around here.

The discussion of hip-hop attire can be counterproductive. It makes more sense to talk about what people are doing for themselves rather than what they are wearing.

DivineLavender said...

Sounds like it was worthwhile....I went to NAFEO a few years ago. I love the national conferences...it helps me remember we are all around trying to make it all better. I love feeling of unity of a national conference.

I got other thoughts....I should reserve them for my blog *wink, wink*.


Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend....love to hear and read about the love...even when we disagree with each other!

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing your trip, FN. I was wondering where you were, considering the lack of new posts. Sounds like you had a good time.

Anonymous said...

Thanks folks, and thanks for hipping me to the National, as opposed to "Reagan Airport" thing. Trust me, I will never use the words Reagan Airport again.

Liz Dwyer said...

Sounds like good times...I like DC too...last time I was there, I had a ball in Adams-Morgan and it was all good until I had to have a white colleague hitch me and my black friends a cab...the white guy did not get in, we went about 7 or 8 blocks, and then our black cabbie pulled up to the curb and told us to get our n!**a asses out because he wasn't taking us to Thomas Circle. To this day, I wish I was a drinker so that I could have spontaneously hurled in the back of his cab, just so he'd really know how I felt about him.

field negro said...

Damn liz, you should have hurled! LOL at the self hating cabbie driver.

dnA said...

Liz,

Your story is the story of every young black person in DC who has tried to catch a cab out of Adams Morgan. I don't even go there anymore.

Liz Dwyer said...

I'm glad (and simultaneously mad) that it wasn't just me and my little group of friends. So why did everybody tell me beforehand, "Girl, go to Adams Morgan! It's so fun!" I guess folks wanted me to have the real DC experience.

NattyDreadKing8800 said...

brother you aint lkying bout the pro war protesters, you might have seen the group i was with, the hip hop caucas, we were the ones in red t's that said make hip hop not war. Anyway, we had pro war, 65 year old biker boys tellin us to go to Zimbabwe, and one specifically told me that MLK died trying to be a "Commy" so I should stop marchin if i value my life, now granted, i can hear worse by just listenin to a rap cd nowadays, but it just felt so different because it was these bigots yellin this shit at us, this was my first protest that I have been a part of, and those bigots made me wanna come back for more....wit my fuckin shank! I swear they lucky a Ras like is a humble Ras, cuz anyhow they would have put their hands on me.... Jah forgive me for such thoughts

Anonymous said...

I went to school in D.C., and I still call it the National.

I didn't know H20s was still open.

I also didn't know there was an association called NAFEO.

Come to the field and get schooled, I guess.