On Friday, September 18, we visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Curator Dr. Samir Meghelli led us on an early-morning tour before opening hours, which let us beat the crowds at one of DC's most popular museums and truly sit with its complicated history.

The exhibit traces a sweeping arc, from the beginnings of the transatlantic slave trade through the Civil War and the civil rights era to the present day. Along the way, it offers a remarkably detailed account of how African American history and identity were forged in America. What stayed with me throughout was the resilience of the people who fought for justice and equality through such traumatic and turbulent times. Theirs is a story of the indomitable human spirit, and it shows how Americans have persevered through community, organizing, and hope for a better future.

Encountering this history in Washington gives it a particular resonance. The capital itself was built in part by enslaved people who were then barred from the very institutions their labor raised. The exhibit closes with a large image of the Obamas as they took office, and I left with a distinct sense of hope and the importance of preserving an inclusive democratic society.

~ Mateo Diaz Magaloni

As we closed out our Honors College week in Washington, D.C., we spoke with Roy Awabdeh and Jodi Herman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The conversation reflected what the whole week had taught us: the field of development will never be the same. We discussed the trade-offs of the current U.S. approach, which favors building economic relationships with nations for their economic benefits rather than weighing their human rights, rule of law, democratic, and labor conditions. It also showed that development work must be able to withstand political transitions, including at home. Even in challenging times, focusing on bipartisan issues and knowing how to negotiate a given situation can still produce strong outcomes for development objectives globally.

I joined CDDRL for its problem-solving orientation, and being in a space where my peers bounced ideas off one another and built each other up made even this hard conversation feel generative rather than discouraging. In that way, the conversation modeled the kind of collaboration this work requires and reminded me how important it is to be creative in intellectual and policy-related spaces. Democracy, development, and rule of law work are never one-size-fits-all. What works in one country or political moment may fail in another, and recent changes in the development space are a clear example of how quickly things can shift. Nothing stays the same, so the people who do this work well will be those who can adapt and design solutions suited to the context in front of them.

~ Anusha Nadkarni