The first holiday of the year was also the day when I visited Liberty City for the first time. I remember that I was very excited because we will have the opportunity to see the community honoring Martin Luther King Jr.It was almost 11:00 a.m. when I arrived to the MLK Park. The day was perfect, the sun was out and the temperature couldn’t be better. I parked near to the stage and I took my camera a notebook, my mission was to go to all the booths and get as much contacts and information as I could. But before doing that, I walked around the park to see what was going on. People were doing the setting of the tables and the food section was already cooking.
When I finished my brief tour, I went to the first booth that I saw when I arrived to the park. It was one promoting the Census so I started talking to the people who were there.
My FIU sweeter made me be more recognizable, so it was easier for me to let people know who I was. Paulette Darm or better known as Sister Soul Jar quickly introduced herself; She said she was a community leader and that she was proud to volunteer for the 2010 Census Campaign. “We need our community to understand how important is that we get counted.” She said.
Other volunteers from the same table gave me lots of pamphlets and magazines with information about non-profit organizations that were making an impact in the sector, so I took all of them and I also asked them for their names and phone numbers.
I didn’t stay much longer at the park because I wanted to see what else was going on around the area. I went back to my car and I drove to the African Heritage Arts Center located at 6161 NW 22nd Ave. This place it’s known for educating and promoting emerging talent in the performing and visual arts by providing classes in different disciplines. Even though the arts center was closed I took some pictures of the buildings and one of the neighbors, who is also a Rapp
artist, told me a little bit more about the center and was kind enough to gave me a CD with two original tracks of his music.
I left the African Heritage Arts Center and I ended at 62 Avenue, which is one of the main streets in Liberty City. While I was driving, I felt part of a parade because I had to drive
very slowly behind four customized cars that were jumping on the street. On the sidewalks, people of all ages were dancing and having BBQs next to enormous speakers that were like walls of sound.The experience in Liberty City couldn’t be better and I’m glad that Professor Reisner asked us to get the sense of the community by attending the MLK event. My next trip will be more specific, I want to visit the arts center and maybe attend a class.