MILWAUKEE — Every neighborhood needs a watchful guardian to ensure everything in the community is okay.
“I’m fine with being nosy cause somebody has to be, but I’m nosy in a good way," Desilynn Smith said.
She has lived in Milwaukee's Garden Homes neighborhood for more than 20 years. But she doesn't just live there. Smith has dedicated much of her life to the neighborhood by volunteering. She rose through the ranks to her current role of Executive Director of Uniting Garden Homes Inc.
"I mean, I really enjoy being out here, so I just get to know everybody," Smith said.
She is one of the many women who have dedicated their lives to protecting and serving the neighborhood and beyond.
“Yes I was in the Army," Anna Mae Robertson, a World War II veteran and Garden Homes resident said.
“We knew we had a warrior amongst us, but we just didn’t know to what magnitude," Annae Mae Robertons daughter, Dawn, said about her.
Sometimes, this dedication meant putting themselves in harm's way.
“You know, I’ve taken guns away from people. Stopped fights," Mother Martha Freeman, a pastor in the Garden Homes neighborhood, said.
Women like Anna Mae and Mother Freeman left their mark on the community by being fiercely committed to the neighborhood. Now, people like Desilynn Smith are taking the reigns. While some may consider them to be nosy neighbors, they have the right intention - to help.
In this episode of the My Block series, I met with Desilynn Smith, so she could show me her neighborhood through her eyes and experiences. Everywhere we went and everyone we talked to was up to her. There was no script to follow. Welcome to the Garden Homes neighborhood.
Desilynn Smith
“There’s a group of nosy people that are here to support - not nothing else. Not report, not nothing, we're just here to support," Smith said.
She is nosy in the best way. It comes from a loving and caring place. She wants to make sure her community is safe and thriving. That's why Smith is intimately involved in neighborhood happenings, meetings, and events. She said there are many residents just as committed to the community's well-being as she is.
"You know, really my favorite thing about the neighborhood is when we do community events. Everyone comes out. Everyone participates. We get such a great turnout from our residents and the community members," she said.
These events help her keep up with everyone. After all, Garden Homes is where she lives. Smith wants her children to grow up and play in the best place possible.
"My community means a lot to me, for my children, and my children work, play here, my grandchildren. And I’m really passionate about bringing us together," Smith said.
There is no question that Smith loves her neighborhood and champions it daily. But I wanted to ask her what she thought its reputation was.
"It's in between and depends on who you ask. If you ask some people that have been affected, of course it's bad. If you ask other people, it's good. I think you’re going to get mixed feelings about it," she said.
The media always plays a role in how things are perceived. It can set the agenda and determine what people talk about and know. In many stories, I ask if the neighbors feel like the local news has done a good job covering their community
"This neighborhood has been highlighted and positive things have come out of this neighborhood. So I think it's both. I think we've been highlighted in a negative view, and not highlighted enough in positive, but I also believe we have been highlighted positively as well," she said.
To highlight more of the positivity in the neighborhood, Smith took me to meet one of the most influential figures in the neighborhood.
Mother Martha Freeman
Mother Martha Freeman is one of the most well-known and respected members of the community. Many people call her 'Mother Freeman', 'Momma Freeman', or 'Pastor Freeman'. She is an ordained minister and runs the Alpha and Omega Ministry on the corner of 27th Street and Atkinson Avenue.
"When I first moved to this neighborhood, it was just so beautiful. Everything was gardens. My backyard had all kinds of vegetables. It had fruit trees," Mother Freeman said.
She has lived in the neighborhood since the 1960s. In that time, she has earned the respect of the entire neighborhood. If Mother Freeman sees an issue or someone calls on her to help, she gets business done.
"(I) walk out and say to them stop that fighting, stop that cussing, and they stop."
She has taken guns away from people and broken up fights.
"She is the lady," Desilynn Smith emphasized.
Before becoming a full-time pastor, Mother Freeman worked in the Milwaukee County House of Corrections for 20 years. That's where she learned how to intervene in difficult situations.
In 2005, she was ordained and took over the ministry at Alpha and Omega. She holds services every Sunday at 11 a.m.
"I never thought of myself as being a pastor. It was amazing. It's still amazing," she said.
She uses her church as a way to connect with the community. Alpha and Omega is on the corner of a busy intersection. Mother Freeman puts free food on a table outside the church. It allows her to meet all her neighbors and talk with them one-on-one. When the food is gone, she puts clothes, diapers, and hygiene products out.
"I sort of use that as the bait. It opens up the door for me to be able to talk to other people," she said.
Mother Freeman has been recognized dozens of times for her hard work. Inside the church, there is a wall full of awards with her certificates of appreciation and accomplishment. The praise has come from State Senator Lena Taylor, Alderman Michael Murphy, the City of Milwaukee, and the many organizations she has volunteered with.
"I'm truly loved by the people in this neighborhood. No matter if they’re just about to fight or cuss or whatever. It's like, 'I love you Momma Freeman'. You know, it's kind of hard to explain," Mother Freeman said.
After meeting Mother Freeman, Desilynn Smith had another equally impressive woman to introduce.
Anna Mae Roberston
Mother Freeman and Anna Mae Robertson might be two of the most decorated and accomplished women in Milwaukee.
Roberston felt the calling to serve her country in the 1940s and enlisted in the army. She was part of the American war effort overseas during World War II.
Anna Mae Robertson doesn’t speak much anymore. However, her actions speak for themselves. Roberston has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years, raised eight kids, and was a member of the Six Triple Eight Postal Battalion in World War II. It was the only predominantly black US women's Army corp unit sent overseas. They served in England and France.
The 6888th Postal Battalion helped sort and deliver mail. Their motto was ‘no mail, low morale.’ The goal was to clear a backlog of millions of letters intended for home-sick troops. They were given six months to sort the letters and mail them. Those ladies did it in three.
“All of us are very very proud of my mother cause she was a very selfless person. She put our needs before her own. She was a working mom," her daughter Dawn said.
For her efforts during the war, she has been given awards from various state governments, the federal government, and the United States Postal Service. Some of the most impressive honors include the Congressional Gold Medal and proclamations from former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and current governor Tony Evers.
"How many certificates of appreciation does your mom have?" I asked Dawn her daughter.
"So many that we lost count," she responded.
"That's a great problem to have," I said.
"Yea," Dawn said with a big smile on her face.
Anna Mae dedicated her life to her country and community. She was committed to making it a better place. Now deep into retirement, she is letting new generations pick up from where she left off.
Felicia Ferguson
Felicia Ferguson is following in the impressive steps of Mother Freeman and Anna Mae Robertson. She is an enthusiastic member of the community and is part of multiple community organizations like Uniting Garden Homes Inc. and the Garden Homes Neighborhood Association.
In a friendly and caring way, she is just like her friend Desilynn Smith. They are both nosy.
“Just so we don’t miss a beat on what’s going on and what’s needed in our neighborhood," Ferguson said.
She is an advocate for businesses especially those around the intersection of 27th Street and Atkinson Avenue. It's a mixture of convenience stores, barbershops, churches, and restaurants.
Ferguson took me to a store she said is crucial to the neighborhood, The Hot Spot.
“The owner of this establishment is on board with what needs to be done to bring back some stability in our community," Ferguson said.
The Hot Spot is a small convenience and grocery store. While it has all the standard items you'd find in a corner store, it also has fresh produce, dairy products, canned goods, and a meat section.
“It provides a full line of groceries for people who can’t get to, you know, your local grocery stores. Maybe (it's) a bit far out, you know, due to transportation issues or maybe even sometimes disability issues," Ferguson said.
Food deserts are an issue in Milwaukee, and The Hot Spot makes access to quality food items easier.
"And not only that, you know what I'm saying, where you can’t go and get something on credit until you get your paycheck at Walmart. You can always come to us, and we will build you a little tab," she said.
Beyond the groceries, Desilynn Smith said the store supports the community by donating food, water, and ice to community gatherings. Plus, Smith said that the owner is open to turning the upper units of the multi-story building into housing for low-income residents.
Stores like The Hot Spot are the backbone of many communities, and it's no different in Garden Homes. They can buy groceries here on a budget, but it's more than that. It's where neighbors run into each other and establish that sense of togetherness.
One Last Question
As is tradition, the last word is always given to the tour guide of the My Block story.
Before that happens, though, here is how you can be part of the series. Reach out to James Groh to nominate your neighborhood or a neighbor to be featured in the next story. You can fill out this submission form or contact him at james.groh@tmj4.com or call/text him at (414) 254-8145. The series has explored how rural areas foster neighborhoods, how Hmong culture in Wisconsin is changing, how Latino immigrants adapt to life in Milwaukee, how one woman is keeping a watchful eye on her neighborhood, and many more themes. Watch more My Block stories here.
Now, back to the person who helped orchestrate all these interviews, Desilynn Smith.
"Is there anything else you'd like to add about your neighborhood?" I asked her.
"One last thing I'd like to say is we're prideful and joyful of this neighborhood, and we all just want to come together. We just need to all figure out our way. So I think that’s one thing that I would like to say. That there is that sense of togetherness."
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