A winter storm hit the D.C. area last week and it looks like cold temperatures will follow for the rest of this week, too.
Some closures are still in effect. Over the weekend many took advantage of the snow with an official snowball fight, sledding and even cross-country skiing on the mall. Across the area Washingtonians enjoyed several inches of snow, up to four in parts of D.C. and temperatures dropped to the 20s, it’s been reported.
It has been nearly two years since D.C. saw more than an inch of snow.
Officials say the Arctic air that brought subfreezing temperatures across the U.S. left tens of millions under wind chill warnings and dangerous icy conditions. The death toll was above 60, according to reports. It is also noteworthy in these hard economic times — paying for multiple wars — D.C’s snowiest days in two years started to fall on Martin Luther King, Jr Day.
And while most are focusing on the joy snowy days bring to briefly numb us from the harsh reality of the state of America, many can’t afford to forget that we still live in a socially, culturally and economically divided nation. Families, especially Black and Brown people are struggling with severe poverty in our so-called wealthy nation. Even today, people stand in line, including veterans, the homeless and those with disabilities, to receive what may be their only hot meal of the day. The list of improvements for a better and more just America is long and America is still under construction.
Nevertheless, we can never forget that all underserved Americans face the worst outcomes on snowy days, especially when the other America still frolics when it snows.
