For a quick snapshot, take the morning of October 14. Even before the sun rises over Mt. Hood, Canada is standing in the library of Harriet Tubman Middle School talking with two dozen student leaders about urgent issues on the district s agenda. On a mural above him, the image of the school s namesake keeps vigil over her legacy as a freer of slaves. Here, his audience is teens of all colors in sweatshirts and jeans. Breakfast is bagels and juice.
Breakfast is croissants and fresh fruit.
Background music is live piano tunes by Gershwin and Kern. If it troubles him that his is the only African American face in the crowd, it doesn t show. Relaxed and smiling, he looks right at home. The deep smile lines around his eyes and the extra pounds around his waist suggest a man who attacks life with pleasure. Unlike Canada s predecessor, who seemed uncomfortable in the limelight and was rarely spotted in public, Canada relishes the attention.