ENGLEWOOD — After this summer, the Army of Moms will no longer be on the corner of 75th and Stewart.
Mothers Against Senseless Killings, as the group is formally known, was started last summer after a slaying in the 7500 block of South Stewart. Group founder Tamar Manasseh hoped to stop any retaliatory violence by recruiting area moms to "take over" the area.
But after an ongoing dispute between the antiviolence moms and a property owner at the corner, the group is looking for a new home on the block.
Mark Jedrzejczak, who co-owns the apartment building the moms have been in front of for two years, has long complained that tenants in his building are inconvenienced by the group. Some have even moved out.
“It causes chaos,” said an agent for the property, who wanted to be identified as “Ms. Smith.”
“Some of our tenants, when they get off of work, they get off the bus and can’t get through," Smith said. "They’re scared of all the people that are out there. Maybe [MASK is] doing good, but maybe people don’t know they’re doing good.”
The moms typically set up tables, grill food and offer activities for kids in the area, with the goal that their presence will keep gangs away and keep kids in the neighborhood out of trouble.
Smith said she would like them to set up somewhere else on the block, even recommending an empty lot directly across the street from the building.
“I’m glad someone is out there trying to help,” Smith said. “It’s not that we don’t care about what they’re doing, it’s just why does it have to be in front of 75th and Stewart? That was the only question.”
Manasseh met with and the property owner of 7505 S. Stewart, Ald. Roderick Sawyer’s chief of staff Winston McGill and Gresham Police District Cmdr. Rodney Blissett at the police station this week to discuss the conflict.
Manasseh said that Jedrzejczak has complained to police about the moms and demanded that they leave. A couple of weeks ago, Jedrzejczak even parked his vehicle on the sidewalk where the moms and volunteers set up to distribute free food, Manasseh said.
Blissett met with the small group privately while nearly 20 MASK supporters sat in a room at the police station waiting for a decision.
“They came to a mutual agreement,” Blissett said after about an hour. He said that this was his first time hearing the details of the issue.
Manasseh agreed to no longer set up in front of the property after this summer. She said she is working on securing the land across the street, but needs the city’s help. Blissett said that they are “determining the status” of the land.
McGill said that this was the first time the alderman’s office was notified of the issue and that Sawyer was very supportive of the work her group had done to stop the violence.
Tamar Manasseh has sat with her volunteers on this corner since last summer. [DNAinfo/Andrea Watson]
There has been only one shooting in the 7500 block of South Stewart Ave. since MASK set up on the block to prevent retaliations after the June 23, 2015, murder of 34-year-old Lucille Barnes, according to a DNAinfo Chicago map of shootings in the city. There was also a shooting in the 7400 block of South Harvard Avenue in August of last year, but the moms had stopped their patrols on that block long before then. And both shootings took place late at night when the patrols aren't in force.
Sawyer has been out himself a few times to see them work.
“We’ve got work to do moving forward to try and bring about additional support for both sides,” McGill said. “That’ll happen in meetings to come.”
Edwina Knight, 91, has lived on the block for more than 50 years. She’s lovingly referred to as “Mama Knight” because she opens her home to the block’s residents. She raised 13 children, eight girls and five boys, in her home and said the neighborhood had declined a lot since those early days.
“I used to sleep on my porch at night,” she said.
She formed a block club before MASK came, but it was challenging keeping people involved. At most, she would have three active members.
The group’s presence has made a difference, though, which is why she wants them to stay, she said.
“They make us feel safe,” Knight said. “It’s nice and helps so much.”
Jermaine Kelly, 22, said that he had witnessed his block change a lot. After seeing Manasseh out there for a few days, he decided to volunteer his time. He’s been with the group since last summer.
“We taught our neighborhood how to love each other,” he said. “Now we can rise. We can police ourselves. We can take care of our own.”
Kelly said that a lot of outsiders have a bad perception of Englewood, but there’s a lot of love and pride in the community.
“We all take care and pitch in to make sure our neighborhood is OK," Kelly said.
The Army of Moms have more than just mothers in the group. Young men such as Kelly have taken on the role of big brother or father to kids in the neighborhood who seek guidance. He said they talk to them about their future and help those who want to change their lives for the better. They offer support and unconditional love.
“That’s what we do, we play that role,” he said. “Whatever you need.”
Manasseh said she was pleased with the compromise that was made Wednesday and she was trying to buy the empty lot on the block because it would benefit the entire community.
“The people of 75th and Stewart are going to get a brand new play lot by next summer, so that’s what we’re really looking at,” she said. “It would be a bigger place for the kids to play. It would be more space for us to do what we have to do.”
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