Golden lining on marble walls. Papers in casings of leather, paper, and what looks to be cardboard. The light filtering through the glass- a heavenly soft one too. The building is a muted gray from the shadow cast upon it, as the sun lives behind its massive stature. A soft breeze brushes against my skin. The air is odorless. As we walk in, it's like I'm in a movie. It's like a gray film has slipped over my eyes and it feels as if I'm gliding through water, or an ocean of silk. I slow down to embrace the beauty- grasp it through my eyes. A sculpture of a lady stands tall upon the staircase in a dark marble of some sort. The sun bathes her in her glory. Her arm is lifted to the skies, holding an orb of light, as if were a gift to the heavens. Or some type of trophy, for some victory over something she had won. Or what if she were a messenger sent to provide the light for us to explore the depths of knowledge encased within old leather?
My feet hit the floor softly, yet it echoed among the white marble speckled in obsidian. My fingertips grazed the banner, feeling the cool marble beneath it. Not a single bump- absolutely flawless.
As my gaze slowly turned upwards, there lay a velvety honey and coral, embedded in the ceiling.
The murmur of tourist talk, laughs, and the distinct click of a camera shuttering bounced reverberated off the walls.
Slowly, I found myself at the top of the staircase and came across and entrance who had led to a warm honey-like light illuminating from the light bulbs lined along the seam of where ceiling and wall. A video caught my attention. Black and white and slightly blurry. But what I saw was a bit of shock : people being doused in torrents of cold water, slipping, tripping and being trapped against walls. No matter how many times you see it, it hurts to see people with same tone of skin as me being hurt and sprayed like a pack of beasts by a set of white policemen. Seeing shepherds snarl in the face of fear. Turning the corner, I hadn't realized I was stepping farther into a historical world of what I had known my whole life, but not in such a depth: Civil Rights Act. Behind the glass stood a history of hurt and injustice of the United States. Looking at it, I found there were so many more people involved in the Civil Rights Act than the prominent names such as Rosa Park, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and so on. There was a case that stood out to me, especially since it was extremely familiar to one we all know. It was a case with the name: Morgan V. Virginia, where a woman had been ordered to sit in the back of the bus, although the law did not apply. It's kind of surreal yet funny to see how only certain people get a large amount of recognition for the things that plenty of people may have done already. I believe this day was a bit of an eye opener. It was a mixture of beauty and hurt- a perfect combination.
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