The Family in Chicago Holding Down Their Block with Togetherness

The banner announcing the block party at 83^rd and South Elizabeth Streets in Chicago stretched from one side of the clean, tree-lined Chicago street to the other. Children, parents, and neighbors gathered excitedly to celebrate the start of another school year. The smell of hamburgers and the happy play of children filled the air.

In the midst of the activity stood Suzette Watkins, longtime resident and organizer of the yearly event.

“We had a game tent, a D.J., and grab bags this year,” Watkins shares. “When I saw it, I said, ‘Lord, thank you, from whom all blessings flow.”

A retired women’s health nurse practitioner at Cook County Hospital, Watkins is a bighearted, generous soul anchored to the block by decades of ownership which began when her parents, Edward and Orlee Watkins, bought a three-story brownstone on Elizabeth in 1965. The Watkins rented the upper floors to tenants to help pay the mortgage. Now, the home belongs to the siblings, three of whom live in it and volunteer in the community as a way of paying homage to their parents and the days when Chicago welcomed Blacks looking for a venue to jumpstart a new life far from the Jim Crow South.

“My father was an encourager,” Watkins says. “Sometimes when God gives you something, I can’t stop…like this block party. I couldn’t stop spending my money!”

Watkins donated her time and money, found other donors, and partnered with Chicagoland Christian Women’s Conference for a grant to fund Saturday’s block party.

She and her three brothers and two sisters grew up working in the church. Watkins says she’s always been “a background person.”

She is graciously content playing a supportive role. Her brother, Stephen, is the president of the block club which their father started.

“They don’t make people like my father and the other guys anymore,” Watkins, the youngest son explains. “They enjoyed picking up the mantle.”

Watkins returned to Chicago from the East Coast where he’d built a successful career as a chef. In 2017 he received an award from Verizon Wireless for leading an effort to get new sidewalks along Elizabeth. As he listed the cleanup chores from Saturday’s block party, Watkins spoke candidly about how “nice” his sister is and how much work is involved in his job.

“Nobody steps up to the plate,” he explained. “Nobody wants to step up to the plate or be accountable.”

Fighting the Violence

While the Watkins and their neighbors were celebrating last weekend, in other parts of the city the violence that routinely lands Chicago in the news continued. Seven people were shot and killed and 52 others were injured. A series of shootings forced Mount Sinai Hospital to temporarily even stop taking patients because they were at capacity.

Those who work with the Watkins family see a correlation between a peaceful neighborhood and residents committed to helping each other.

“We had the police presence and our alderman came,” Suzette says.

“Everybody is not shooting, there is someone in the neighborhood standing for peace and togetherness,” Frank Morrison III stated. “It’s that time of year…let’s come outside and come together and celebrate.”

Morrison is a professor at Kennedy King College. It’s where he met Suzette Watkins. She was a student in his computer literacy class who volunteered to bring food when the course ended. Watkins’ idea of a “meal” and Morrison’s were quite different.

“On the day of, I looked out the window,” Morrison recalls. “She’s pulling up in a truck filled with food.”

Watkins laughs, “When we rolled up in my father’s old van, it was packed with food.”

She and Morrison teamed up for the block party.

“When I told Brother Morrison what I wanted, he made it happen,” Watkins remarks.

Morrison is also a graphic designer who created the banner, the flyer, and the color scheme.

“I took the gifts God has given me and partnered with them,” he says. “It starts at home, in the neighborhood, and there is your community.”

Sowing Seeds of Encouragement

The sidewalks from a few years ago still look brand new. And, neighbors like James McSwain appreciate the progress and the annual back-to-school party. His grandchildren attended this year.

“It was nice…very nice,” he says. “Things are a whole lot better in the neighborhood.”

And, Watkins is working on another beautification project. She would like to see flowers all along the street and the lawns spruced up by landscape designers. Her goal is to find a grant to fund the idea. Her friend, Morrison, applauds every effort to contribute to the neighborhood and their hometown.

“If you stand close to a hot radiator, it’s going to warm you up!” Morrison says.

And, Suzette Watkins and her family are warming up things on the Southside.