Still a pretty regular presence in Georgetown, on M Street, the Canal, and the Waterfront
Maggie Downing
@maggiedowning.bsky.social
343 followers 506 following 704 posts
public space + public history // avid baker // casual cyclist // DC + New England // she/her
![[chapter title]SPRING * [page number]35
It's always a gamble, who gets remembered and who doesn't.
Whose story gets told correctly, and whose story is warped over time.
History is never definitively what happened—it's a human construct, with human biases, perspectives, and agendas. Like all things human, history is flawed, and forgetful, and at times overly optimistic.
Statues are erected, and statues are torn down. Memorials are built and then dismantled. Especially in a country as young as ours, and as big as ours—with such a lugubrious and contentious past— history isn't so much history as it is a never-ending narrative that is constantly being amended, erased, added to, and often ignored.
Still, ya gotta try. I'm glad people like Florence E. Wheeler do.
The sky is still threatening, but whatever precipitation is up there has managed to stay in the clouds. Nevertheless, the temperature continues to drop—I can feel the icy air cutting into my hands, and I regret not bringing gloves —as I walk away from the memorial and head farther west.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:plbkfzxd2ddwe7bny7zlpw3z/bafkreibx7fghvkzuwwjesdekl5pwxan34aqvoyqpyhimsbnmwjozf4tqmq)
