On Martin Luther King Day, we met up with kids and families from Camp Sojourner, which is run by our friend Rich’s friend Alisha. We made signs and traveled together on the subway to Independence Mall for the start of the MLK D.A.R.E March.

That’s how both the kids spell “justice”, apparently, but I think they have it down now. Béla kept trying to ditch his sign because we did not have time to re-make it and he was bothered by the error (I have saved the sign).

It was a whirlwind to get to Independence Mall, and then it was a lot of waiting.

Being black has become a bigger deal to Claudia lately. She is happier to be homeschooling, but Planet Homeschool is a lot whiter than her public school was. And she feels this.

We walked to the grounds of Mother Bethel Church and heard many speakers — including Sonia Sanchez!

After the rally itself Claudia really wanted to get inside Mother Bethel, to see if it made her feel any different than the Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia had.

At first it did not go so well, as we ran directly into founder Richard Allen’s tomb. An above-the-ground tomb was the last thing Claudia wanted to see, but people at Mother Bethel were very nice and directed us to the Sanctuary, where a choral rehearsal was taking place.

Claudia asked to come back to visit Mother Bethel Church again.

and from Béla: