On Monday, January 20, we hosted 54 people for our Martin Luther King, Jr event. It was a great success. The day started with some introductory comments from Amy, who talked about MLK’s devotion to the concept of “Beloved Community.” That was a fitting start because of our theme, which was food security.
After Amy’s welcome, Winosha Steele, an artist from Plattsburgh, read Last Stop on Market Street, an award-winning children’s book by Matt de la Peña. From the book’s description:
Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don’t own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn’t he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty–and fun–in their routine and the world around them.
After the story hour, Amy introduced Tammy Johnson from the Westport Food Shelf, which was founded 50 years ago by Tammy’s mother. They discussed Tammy’s work there and the need for this kind of assistance in our area, and then she led everyone over to see the Food Shelf and make donations. We dropped off many bags and boxes of food, including a crate of eggs that were donated by the North Country School.
Everyone stopped at the playground on their way back, and then returned to a delicious lunch cooked by Amy and Josh, who is in residency at Snowfort’s apartment. The meal included pulled pork, BBQ chicken, collards, grits, and banana pudding, a real southern meal to acknowledge MLK’s roots in Atlanta (where Amy hails from, she noted proudly).
Thanks to our co-sponsor, John Brown Lives! and especially Winosha, as well as everyone who came out. Our second MLK event was a true success!