By Jarvis Harris and Joe Foss
Just in time for Black History Month 2025, Jarvis Harris and Joe Foss are telling local audiences about their five-week, 4,600-mile tour of Black historical sites across the United States last fall. This is the first instalment for The JOLT‘s readers.
We met on the golf course nine years ago and, over time, bonded over a shared commitment to social justice. Through doing a couple of podcast episodes together, we realized we had shared concerns about America’s continued racial issues. After more rounds of golf, sharing books, and much conversation, we both realized we were passionate about racial injustice.
Combine that and our love of country and history, and you will be on your way to understanding the passion of this trip. Even with what we knew from our combined experiences, we kept discovering there was so much more we didn’t know.
In September 2024, after months of planning, we embarked on a five-week Black History tour across the U.S., primarily traveling by Amtrak’s USA Rail Pass.
Racism in our country is systemic; it is literally imbedded in every aspect of our lives. Black Americans are pretty aware of this; most white Americans don’t even notice.
Many Americans may feel that we have already moved past racism and racial differences and conflicts when, truthfully, there is still much work to be done.
Our desire to do such an extensive Black History tour was driven by wanting to understand more fully how Black History is an integral and dynamic part of American History.
We flew from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Norfolk, Virginia, on Sept. 24, 2024. We stayed with Jarvis’ longtime friends in Yorktown before visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Our extensive journey eventually took us to Jamestown, Virginia; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Atlanta; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Montgomery, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee; New Orleans; San Antonio, Texas; Austin Texas, Maricopa, Arizona, Gilbert Arizona, San Jose California, and San Mateo, California.
We completed our journey back to our homes in Lacey and Tacoma.
Throughout February, we will share more details of our experiences in daily articles about what we call Jarvis and Joe’s Black History USA Rail Tour.
For additional insights into our journey and anti-racist work, please visit our website, AcceptingOthers.com.
Jarvis Harris, of Lacey, is a retired US Army veteran and former Pierce County corrections officer who now dedicates his time to personal passions and volunteering. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he settled in Lacey during his Army service.
Joe Foss, of Tacoma, is a Navy veteran and retired business owner who has been actively engaged in projects addressing racism in America since 2012.