After a long week of much ado about the exploits of the avaricious, last Friday afternoon provided a fitting end. At 2:00 p.m., amidst a crowd of philanthropists, school-children, business leaders, and former president George Bush, our city’s newest (and perhaps subtlest) monument was officially dedicated. The monument is called “The Extra Mile,” and is composed of a path of fourteen bronze medallions embedded into the sidewalk, a tribute to some of our nation’s most laudable volunteers and pioneers, such as W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglass, and Cesar Chavez, among others. The Extra Mile begins on the corner of 15th & Pennsylvania, right next to the Treasury Department, and will extend additional blocks as more honorees are added.

As much as we would love nothing more than to craft a cynical retort about the monument, the whole thing seems entirely straightforward and innocent. After all, how can you ridicule a bronze plaque dedicated to Hellen Keller? With great difficulty and weeks of subsequent guilt, that’s how. We can’t even bemoan a potential waste of tax dollars, as the entire thing is privately funded and organized by The Points of Light Foundation (along with corporate sponsors) in the name of encouraging volunteerism. The idea of Martin Luther King “Brought to you by the good people at FedEx” is a bit strange, but the sponsorship is unobtrusive to the tribute as a whole. Many more honorees are slated to be added to what will eventually be a mile-long path, and they are chosen out of a pool of individuals nominated by the public (that means us!).

So, if you find yourself with nothing to do one afternoon this week, take advantage of the pleasant spell of weather and check out our city’s own walk of fame. Say what you will, at least ours isn’t sullied by Ryan Seacrest.

Image courtesy of The Extra Mile website.