Earlier this month, Spokane resident Kitara Johnson took the trip of her life.
“Right now I’m going through all the pictures and videos in chronological order," Johnson says as we sit in her living room just a few days after her return. She's looking at her phone and talking about the whirlwind that was still fresh in her mind.
“I’m looking at the pictures of me at 4 am, fully dressed. Actually, it might have been 3 because at 4 am I was already down at the airport and the flight didn’t leave until 7, but I was there on time and I didn’t want to miss it.”
She shows me pictures of her and four others from Spokane on their flight to the nation’s capital. There they met Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who had invited them to join her. They’re part of an effort here in Spokane to improve the climate for community conservations, especially around race. They boarded a plane with about 30 other Congressional members, as well as civil rights leaders, for what is now an annual “Faith and Politics” pilgrimage to the Deep South.
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