Jan. 20 is a busy day. It is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and also Inauguration Day. Wall-to-wall coverage of pomp and circumstance will be on the agenda for some, but not a group of Black women in St. Paul. They’ve got other plans.
“I want to honor Dr. King’s legacy,” said Sheletta Brundidge, a well-known community activist, WCCO Radio host and Twin Cities media personality. “He said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?’”
Brundidge organized a group of Black women who will not be in front of their televisions on Jan. 20, but instead in St. Paul as part of a Black Women’s Day of Service, delivering pillows and comforters intended to provide warmth and security to local survivors of domestic abuse.
“When I heard Michelle Obama wasn’t attending the Presidential Inauguration, it gave me an idea,” said Brundidge. She decided to call on her friends, the same ones who gathered after the election back in November.
“I hosted a big party at the Minneapolis Club to get our groove back. We danced and drank, but this time I didn’t want to party or line dance, I wanted to move with purpose.” When deciding what that purpose would be, Brundidge says she was inspired after meeting a homeless woman who visited a prayer service at her church. Brundidge helped the woman find respite at Harriet Tubman Center East, a shelter for victims of domestic abuse.
For nearly 50 years, Tubman has helped Minnesotans of all ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds who are experiencing relationship violence, exploitation, mental and chemical health issues and other forms of trauma. In 2023 alone, Tubman helped 18,400 people with its many services, including safe shelter, housing legal services, counseling, youth programming and violence prevention.
When Brundidge helped the woman check in at Tubman, she learned they needed bedding. That’s when the light bulb went off. Brundidge now had a plan for Jan. 20. “I knew I couldn’t come up with 100 comforter sets and 200 pillows on my own. So, I got on social media and asked every Black woman I knew to join me in this effort. We’re going to bring blankets and pillows and comforters to comfort the women and families in that shelter.”
The women are going to meet more than a need at the shelter, they’ll also support the emotional and physical wellbeing of the guests. "These gifts of pillows and bedding mean so much, for many reasons,” said Tubman CEO Jennifer J. Polzin. “They certainly meet a tangible need in the shelter program and allow our guests a better night’s rest, which is essential to the healing process, and have more energy to achieve their goals. Plus, they’ll be able to take their new bedding with them when they move into their new homes and make a fresh start in the community.”
Leticia Selmon will be one of the attendees at the Black Women’s Day of Service Jan. 20 at Tubman. She ordered an entire bed-in-a-bag to donate. “MLK Day is a day of service, it is not a day off,” said Selmon. “We should be out in our communities serving and restoring where we can. I also love to see people happy and smiling and I believe us showing up and flooding them with what they need will spread some happiness and joy.”
You are invited to spread the joy! You can sign up to donate and learn more about the Black Women’s Day of Service, on Monday, Jan. 20, MLK Day HERE.
Brundidge also wanted to extend a personal invitation to Michelle Obama. “I know you’re not going the Inauguration and that you have a strong history of service, join us at Tubman!”