With umbrellas and masks, we took the boys out on a field trip to experience the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). Despite what the president and certain conservative media outlets have reported, we found it to be peaceful and beautiful. We walked in and around the CHAZ, read the words of protest and hope, experienced memorials of too many black people killed by police surrounded by colorful street art on the walls around us and the streets under us, walked past medic tents and free food, smiled under our masks to protesters, onlookers, and families, and explained words and meanings to our children, hoping to inspire a new generation of compassion and change.
