A new history trail in D.C. invites people to learn about the hidden figures and places in a city that has shaped the journey to freedom and equality.
It’s called “51 Steps to Freedom,” and includes a pathway of 51 steps, or stops, from Georgetown to Anacostia. Sandra Jowers-Barber, cochair of the Historians Advisory Committee for 51 Steps, said it’s different from other historical tours.
“It’s not just ‘come take a trip and hold up an app.’ It’s ‘come be enlightened, come understand the challenges people overcame and how they worked together to overcome those challenges.’”
The trail’s name comes from the idea of unity, said H.H. Leonards, cofounder of the trail.
“Fifty states, one nation, is what it’s about. We want to bring our country together and find our similarities,” she said.
The trail spans over eight miles, and is broken up into six units: Georgetown, Dupont/Foggy Bottom, Strivers’ Section, Anacostia, U Street, Downtown and The Mall. It includes stops at museums, churches, meeting houses, burial grounds, slave quarters, parks, homes and gardens.
Barber said the stops tell the story of America’s quest for justice and democracy.
“One of the things 51 Steps to Freedom is doing is also validating those individuals in those neighborhoods who always knew there were important things that happened,” she said.
The interactive trail includes using an app that incorporates augmented reality (AR), where you can go inside, for example, of the home of Frederick Douglass and hear him speak. On the campus of Howard University, where the old Griffith baseball stadium once stood, you can see Negro League star Josh Gibson hit home runs.
Leonards said as the experience gets built out, there will be AR experiences at every stop on the trail.
“It’s a way to reach people that might not be able to learn in a traditional way, what the history is and it allows you to feel the history,” she said.
Leonards, quoting her friend, civil rights icon Rosa Parks, said the goal of the trail is about more than experiencing history, it’s learning from it.
She said Parks used to say, “We’re hiding behind the laws, we’re not spending the time to change people’s hearts. If we don’t change people’s hearts, the laws will revert back.”
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