Three small children walked in front of Javier Mautino, as men on either side of him high-five the kids and wish them well on their first week of school.
"It's awesome, it's awesome," he said. "It's beautiful man, to see all those fathers out there and everything, that's great."
About 150 men gathered outside Martin Luther King Junior School in Hartford on Tuesday to welcome students back to classes. What began as an idea last year on social media has now turned into a citywide movement aimed at motivating kids to learn by showing them role models who are men of color.
Pastor AJ Johnson is one of several men who has worked to get the word out about the event.
"We have doctors, we have lawyers, we have politicians, we have judges, we have fast food workers, we have a little bit of everyone here," Johnson said. "We just want the community to know that we are here for them. Just because they go to a community school, in a neighborhood that's always seen on different mass media sites as poor or bad, that there are positive people here to support them."
Some of the kids were a little shy, others ran up the line of men, smiling big and eagerly smacking hands with their role models, who were all dressed to the nines.
One of them is Reverend Henry Brown. He founded Mothers United Against Violence, and choked up as he talked about how important the gathering was to him.
"It's a great thing, man, and I'm so happy that we all could come out, in particular for our children man, just to see the joy on their face is touching," he said. "Very touching."
Pastor Johnson says it's important especially to support the boys in eighth grade, who are often vulnerable to outside influences -- both good and bad.
Men are expected to gather at three more Hartford Schools this week to spread their welcome message.
