ATL was quite the experience! Unlike the past trips, it was a perfect mixture of fun and sightseeing. Let's not forget I was in the "Black Mecca" for the first time. People remind me that I'm from Detroit, and I was born and raised around black people. However, there's a difference. One, I've been trapped in Ann Arbor for the past 10 months. Sure, I took occasional trips home to visit family in Dearborn, but for goodness sakes, it's DEARBORN. Ann Arbor, in general, is lacking black people. I'm one of four African Americans in my program, and while I can't speak for the undergraduate population, I can say that this year, it's the first time I realized that I went to a predominantly white school (I miss mis amigos. :-( ). Moreover, we're talking about a city who has the "movers and the shakers." It was an entirely different caliber of black people. Did it have poverty and blight? YES. Did it have its ghettos? YES. But it also had a large population of affluent African Americans who were educated in HBCU's, and now excelling in the industry of their choice. One woman, for instance, was an optometrist. A doctor before the age of 30.
Back to the lecture at hand- I rode with my classmate, Raquel, to ATL in order to keep her company on the road. It was a pretty smooth drive, and we didn't encounter much trouble or traffic. The first night out, we went to a place called Mood Lounge for a friend's birthday. It was a nice, chill spot. Not too crowded and good music. It was nice to be able to go out and see how they partied in Atlanta. They didn't know things like the 'Cat Daddy' or the "Bad Girl', but they LOVED to 'Wobble Wobble.' -___- The next day, we went to the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Tau Chapter picnic. Umm, to describe it? Well....it was like being a piece of a thick, juicy T-Bone steak in a lions den. No lie, I could not take two steps without some random Que pulling me to the side. Most of them were aghast that I was Zeta. Below are some of the comments told to me:
Que #1: "Tell me baby, how did they [Zeta] get you?"
Que #23: "Did you know this weekend is Freaknik?"
Me: "Is it really?"
Que #23: "No. But we can make it that."
Que #6 "Gurl, you got some pretty lips. And pretty teeth too! Is yo daddy a dentist??"
Que #30: "Oh your name is Chris-ti-na?
Me: "Yess...."
Que #30: "Well you know what they say about people with three syllables in their name..."
I won't finish the last comment due to finer womanhood, but you get the gist. It was slight system overload, but fun nonetheless! That night, we went to a graduate chapter Kappa party, and that was an upscale, classy event. I was sweltering, but received some compliments on my dress (kept it classy). Again, I mention these two events in detail because though they were the extreme opposites, they still had college-educated African Americans who were leaders in their community, and established teachers, lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, etc. Just beautiful.
Sunday, we went to the Ray of Hope church with the wonderful Reverend Cynthia Hale, and had Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles afterward (insert heavenly chimes). That night, Raquel, her fiance Calleb, and I sat on the couch and watched CNN announce the death of Osama Bin Laden. We'll end this paragraph now because the circumstances surrounding Bin Laden's death will be discussed in another blog. Maybe two.
My last day in Atlanta had more of the historical aspect. After eating breakfast in the Auburn neighborhood, I FINALLY got to go to Dr. Martin Luther King's church and burial site. After the trips to Boston, Miami, Philly, etc., I was elated that I actually visited places relevant to African American history.
WHOA.
That's NOT to say the other places lacked things relevant to black folk. Philly alone has too many to name. Unfortunately, I never got to visit those places. I DID get to go to the Ebenezer Baptist Church, MLK home's, Spelman, Morehouse, Clark, Sweet Auburn, etc. So even if I could never travel to Atlanta again, I know that I got to see landmarks and historical places that are integral parts of Black history. I may not have seen everything, but my soul is satisfied with what I did see (and yes, I did mean for it to sound that dramatic).
Who knows when I'll make my grand return to ATL? It may be June for the Greek picnic. Maybe August for Raquel's wedding. I do know that I'll be back, and this time, I plan on partying with--you guessed it--- drag queens.
Atlanta, Georgia- You get: TWO THUMBS UP
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