[to be graded #2] malcolm x post 7.

the field trip to harlem, ny to visit places that malcolm visited was extremely interesting and touching. we drove into harlem and met our tour guides, Neal Shoemaker and Andi Owens, who gave us a brief background of malcolm's life, and the area of harlem. then we got off the bus and walked around a little, and saw different monuments and buildings where malcolm had walked or visited. we also saw a hotel where fidel castro and others of high importance once stayed. one my my favorite parts of the trip was visiting the Schombeurg Center for Research in Black Culture. it had exhibits of different moments in african american history, and had a great layout of events from Barack Obama's campaign tour. when we were upstairs, there was a group of younger african american children who were also on a field trip. i saw them while we were watching a quick movie of Obama, and i couldn't help but overhear them talking with their teacher. she was asking them if they knew about  Shirley Chisholm, who had been the first african american woman to run for president in 1972. i was astonished to hear these young kids know who she was talking about, and be able to tell her events that this woman witnessed. it proved to me how much culture there was in harlem and in events like the election of an african american president, were even more meaningful to people who never thought it could happen. this part of the tour was one of my favorites because throughout the entire election, my mom and i followed all the campaigning and speeches. every day, whether it was breakfast, dinner, or right after school, the tv in my kitchen was on MSNBC or any other news station that had events from the trail. even though the trip. being in this museum with the ashes of Langston Hughes buried underneath one of his poems in the ground. 

another one 

the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz Mosque was a part of the trip that i felt the most connected to. although i am not a muslim, i thought it was really interesting because i had never been in a mosque before. the man who met us in the mosque was referred to as a brother, and he even called us his "family." (we were referred to as brothers, sisters, and a big family multiple times during the day. i thought it was really nice and showed the hospitality, in the sense that these people don't care who you are, where you are from, or what you look like, they treat you the same as one of their actual family members). anyway, in this mosque, the brother taught us a little about why the interior of the mosque was decorated as it was. for example, no mosques are allowed to having any pictures or drawings on the walls, because it is impossible to depict G-d. we learned that if one person drew a picture of G-d, then everyone who thought they resembled the picture would think they were of a "higher" power, and everyone who didn't look like the depiction would not be as special. this was interesting to me, because in the jewish religion, you are not supposed to depict G-d or write any of G-d's names on a paper that could be thrown away. i realized that as different as many religions are, there are certain bonds that you can find which link their main thoughts together. this brought me to wonder about how important it is to learn about other religions. this article taught me that studying other religions can even make you more secure in what you believe in, because it shows you everything else that you do not believe in and clarifies it. i am not saying that you should just decide tomorrow to go out and learn about every other religion on the planet. i am trying to show that even my experience in the mosque taught me something new, and helped me understand how malcolm became so devoted to the islamic faith. i also realized that americans are not supposed to throw away american flags, you have to bring it somewhere for them to dispose of it properly, because it is un-American and improper to throw something away that has so much respect. i also remembered that if you are jewish and you drop a prayer book on the floor, you are supposed to kiss the corner to show your respect and almost say sorry for dropping something so sacred. you may think its confusing about how i tied all this together, but i am basically trying to show that my experience to harlem taught me about the culture and all the history that was in the area. it also encouraged me to learn more about different religions and understand the faiths of others.