MLK service day

Last week started with a day off in honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day.  MCTC, the community college I attend, also honored the day with a service day on Saturday.  Projects included reading to children, doing some sorting at the library, working at a homeless shelter, making blankets, going door-to-door on behalf of a literacy program as well as several others.  As I left the house at 7:10 on a clear and cold day, I had a hard time remembering why I had signed up to participate.  I was rather chilled by the time I arrived at school.

The good breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash-browns, fruit and an array of pastries helped me think that maybe this would be worth the early morning trip.  I sat with a woman who was in my Sociology class last semester and a woman who works in the financial aid office.  Some of the conversation centered on the quality of the professors at MCTC.  I kind of had the idea that community colleges were a step below 4-year colleges.  Our collective experience was that the vast majority of the professors are passionate about their subject, enjoy teaching and want the students to succeed.  A smaller class size for the generals doesn't hurt either.

By the time the program started I was feeling rather under-dressed in my painting clothes.  Many of those in attendance were quite well dressed.  Tyrone Bledsoe was the speaker and tried really hard to stay within his 15 minute limit.  Besides his passion to help men of color graduate from college, he obviously had lots of stories to tell.  As a six year old he and his twin brother had been among the children escorted by MLK to their newly integrated school.

Once the preliminaries were over we got down to work.  I joined a group of 20 people doing some painting at a Project for Pride and Living apartment building on the north side of Minneapolis.  It was amazing how much we were able to get done in a few hours.  I worked with a man from Togo who had never painted before in his life.  He did well and somehow managed to keep his black pants and dress shoes from getting any paint on them.  However, I don't think he'll be using his business degree by starting a painting business.