On June 20, the MAD DADS of Wilkinsburg defied the rain at Ferguson Park in Wilkinsburg to celebrate fatherhood and remind the community that the MAD DADS are on the loose.
Since 2006, MAD DADS (MEN AGAINST DESTRUCTION DEFENDING AGAINST DRUGS AND SOCIAL DISORDER) has been a citizen police force engaging with youth at the proverbial ground zero for crime, on the streets. In that time, they have broken up fights, brought an end to vandalism in troubled areas and have been positive male role models for communities in need of them.
Most of the members are men who spent time on the streets themselves as kids. They know what it’s like to feel like no one is watching, and know the temptation to do wrong that can arise from that. George Spencer, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Area MAD DADS Chapter and chairman of the national board of MAD DADS, said he joined because he began to see some of the youth in his own family in the upcoming generation get into too many close calls.
“I was a little surprised at one of the things one of them got into that went under my radar and I felt the conviction that I had not been as aggressive about the problems MAD DADS addresses when it was other people’s problem,” Spencer said.
“I sensed that I had to address the issue where it goes on and that’s the streets. I said I’m about to get mad, bad and aggressive about this issue.” Spencer said it was at a Community Empowerment Association meeting where he found his new purpose.
“Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu was speaking and he wrote a book called ‘Positive Black Solutions.’ He mentioned this organization MAD DADS and getting strong drug free men to take the streets.”
So Spencer decided to open a Wilkinsburg chapter of MAD DADS. It wasn’t easy and the process took two years but by May of 2006, they were ready to start bringing civility and order to neighborhood.
“We had a problem on devil’s night around 2006.The previous year a blind man got attacked and another man got dragged of his porch by a roaming gang of hoods,” he said.
Spencer recounted an anecdote of just what happened the next devils night the first time MAD DADS hit the block.
“The police asked us are you sure you want to go out there? It’s bad out there. We said that’s the point, to go where it’s the worst. So they told us if it was going to go down anywhere it would be at the Park Triangle. So we thought they were just trying to get us out the way, we thought there were way worse places than that. We had 19 men that night with a police escort and we saw 60-80 kids and it was on for a couple of hours.
“They called us every nasty name in the book because they didn’t like it that we were with the police. They were like why are you out here trying. We said we are trying to keep you out of Shuman Center. They said I don’t care about going to Shuman Center. So I said then go ahead and do something while I’m looking at you and I’ll make sure you go.”
Spencer said the detective told him that the daylight crew was going to be so happy because thousands of dollars of vandalism got stopped that night. One window got broken. The man of the house came out to confront them with a beast of a dog and Spencer believes the man was armed. “That’s what these kids don’t realize, it’s not about stopping their fun. That man could have hurt them.”
Deb Rose, a resident in Wilkinsburg, was having a lot of trouble on her block where more than 50 percent of the homes are vacant. She had a problem with people tagging her house with graffiti. She met the MAD DADS at a council meeting desperate for any help or solution.
“First thing they did was come down with weed whackers and mowers and they just restored pride in the little street,” she said. “They came and stood with me and helped me remove the graffiti. At first, when they showed up, the kids would scatter. Then they got curious and would come around and they were able to do street outreach to the kids.”
Fast forward nine years and the MAD DADS are celebrating their Ninth Annual Fatherhood Celebration at Ferguson Park in Wilkinsburg. Not only did they have games, dancing, and barbeque but also a new apparatus to reach kids- a free library. There is a new cabinet in Ferguson playground with books that kids can take out and read.
Wilkinsburg Councilman and Parks and Recreations Advisory Board member Patrick Shattuck said this new device could really make a difference.
“When MAD DADS asked where we could go to build a mini library, we said set them up where there are the most kids and as fast as you can build them, we will find space in our other playgrounds as well because this is something we definitely want,” he explained.
Spencer said he recalled hearing the government projects how many prisons to build based on second or third grade reading levels. “I don’t know if it’s true or not but we felt this could encourage the kids to read. They can take the book and bring it back or keep it and we will build these in every park in Wilkinsburg,” he said.
William Bay said he has been with MAD DADS four or five years. “We’re here to spread love. We aren’t out here to tell on anybody. When we come around people just respect what we do and we respect what they do, for instance if they sell drugs, they were there before we got there but we also let them know that this is our street and that’s where law enforcement comes in and we let them know we are going to be here as long as you are here and for the moment, no one is getting shot.”
Bay was inspired to do something after two of his close cousins were killed. “Adults don’t pull kids to the side anymore to hear what they have to say,” he said. “They know these streets better than we do they want to know why this is going on and when we come around, they know their fathers are concerned. We are the fathers of the community.”
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