I am part of the Complicated History of a Country Where I am a Guest

The National Museum of African American Arts and Culture opened today and I found myself getting very emotional about a history that is not entirely mine. My ancestors are not West African and did not come to America on slave ships (they probably went East to Asia instead). They didn't endure segregation. As far as I know, they weren't a part of the American civil rights movement.

And yet, as I walk down the street, all people see is the color of my skin. It doesn't matter that I am wholly African. There are those who can tell the difference and ask me about it but in the eyes of many, I am just black. My history is irrelevant to them.

Should it matter that I am not American? Probably not but I can't escape the fact that in America, such nuances only matter when there is trouble.

The person who oversees the "Book Palace of the American People" is a political appointee

Today was an auspicious day for library nerds like me. This is the first time in a long time, 28 years to be exact, that a new Librarian of Congress (LibOC) took the Oath of Office. Yes, the LibOC is a political appointee.

I also learned much more about the Library of Congress itself. After much of the original material in the original LOC burned, Thomas Jefferson sold his collection to Congress. Yes, he sold his collection cause dude was apparently broke. That was 200 plus years ago.

Since 1800 when the LOC began, 13 LibOCs added to the collection and the number of items archived in the LOC is staggering to say the least.

Today, Dr. Carla Hayden became the 14th LibOC. She is the first woman and the first African-American to hold the post. She was confirmed by a vote of 74 Yeas and 18 Nays (really, Nays to the LibOC?). Her term is 10 years and is renewable.

Chief Justice Roberts swore her in and her 83 year-old mom, who does not look a day over 50 by the way, held the Bible on which Dr. Hayden placed her hand. That very Bible itself is historic in that it belonged to President Lincoln.

She quoted Ainsworth Rand Spofford, the 6th LibOC who said the LOC is "The Book Palace of the American People." She also talked about how her ancestors were punished for learning to read. Dr Hayden famously kept the library in Baltimore from which she came open during unrest in 2015.

These are the moments that give me hope.

Happy Hour Trivia

Steely Dan are named for a strap-on toy.

Virginia Beach is the largest city in Virginia.