Community cleanup beautifies BR for Spring weather and Easter celebration
Residents joined Council Member Twahna P. Harris to clean Gus Young Avenue, uniting to beautify their community one bag at a time.
By Maddie Scott
Louisiana State University
Residents picked up trash on and around Gus Young Avenue recently for Council Member Twahna P. Harris’ District 7 community cleanup event.
Volunteers joined hands in prayer at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center around 8:45 a.m. on April 11, a table of donuts, fruit, and water behind them for a quick breakfast. Everyone geared up with gloves, yellow traffic vests, orange garbage bags, and trash grabbers, ready to tidy Gus Young Avenue and the surrounding streets.
“It lets the community know that we’re out here cleaning our district, and we would love for you to join us in doing so,” Harris said. “Because you have to take care of your safe space. Your home is your safe space.”
In pairs, participants split off into the area. As Harris picked up trash, she also took pictures of dump areas to report them to the city. After an hour, she found three dump areas and filled two garbage bags. She said the two donuts from earlier gave her a sugar rush, the necessary energy for an early morning event.
Harris said she’s done many community cleanup events in the past ten years. With spring in the air and summer around the corner, it’s a great time to talk, laugh, and walk, but also take care of her district, Harris said.
As time passed, more volunteers arrived and more glimmers of neon yellow vests trickled onto the street. The morning sun didn’t feel too hot, especially as light breezes grazed the air.
Baton Rouge resident Terral Jackson Jr. grabbed trash while his friend, Roderick Shannon, held open a garbage bag. The pair made their way down the street, making conversation in the 70-degree weather. Jackson said he joined the event because he wants to support Harris in any way he can.
“We’re just here to support and give back to the community,” Jackson said.
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This story was reported and written by a student with the support of the non-profit Louisiana Collegiate News Collaborative, an LSU-led coalition of eight universities funded by the Henry Luce and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations.
