By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
In honoring the work of Martin Luther King Jr. the AFRO is highlighting local leaders like Elijah Miles, founder and chairman of the Tendea Family, as he continues to carry the torch of King in the community.
“It’s one thing for me to honor his name verbally, or to salute to him on the holiday, but it’s another thing entirely to say, ‘I have to pick up that work,’” said Miles. “I pick up the torch and will make sure that we get to the promised land that he envisioned.”
The grassroots organization is based in Baltimore and aims to empower the city’s Black community. Tendea Family is based in Miles’ neighborhood, McElderry Park.
“Martin Luther King Jr., right before he was assassinated, said ‘I’ve been to the mountain top… I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land,’” said Miles, 29. “We believe that when we look at Black Baltimore, Black Detroit or Black communities across the country– we’re not at the Promised Land that King envisioned and saw for us. In line with that, we believe that there’s still more work to do.”
The Tendea Family was started in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man from West Baltimore who was injured while in police custody. Gray was arrested on April 12, 2015, at Prestbury and Mount Street in the Sandtown-Winchester area in Baltimore, for possession of an illegal knife.
Officers cuffed Gray’s hands and feet and put him in the police van without securing Gray in a seatbelt, leaving him to sustain fatal neck and spinal injuries.
Gray was taken to the hospital that day, where he underwent multiple surgeries and was comatose for several days. On April 19, he died.
Miles saw the moment, although tragic, as a missed opportunity for Black Baltimore to advance. He also realized it would take more than a “moment” or one person to change things for Black Baltimore, so he created Tendea Family.
“When we looked back on the Civil Rights Movement–Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party– we saw that things didn’t just happen overnight,” said Miles. “These individuals did great things, but there were whole movements and organized groups that worked for years.”
“We realized that you have to be committed to this, day in and day out,” continued Miles. “Not for a year, not a month, but a lifetime.”
The group has gone on to offer a wide array of services for the community such as street clean-ups, youth leadership opportunities and after-school patrol to help keep kids safe while they’re walking home from classes. They also offer weekly men and women programs.
“We train and teach and develop Black males specifically to be protectors of their community,” said Miles. “Oftentimes, Black men are portrayed in media as predators and ultraviolent people, but the Black men that we encounter desire to be of use to their community and make it a better place.”
“Women’s class is focused on healthy Black womanhood,” said Miles.
According to the latest U.S. Census data (updated on July 1, 2024), Baltimore City consists of 60 percent Black residents and 27.4 percent White community members.
The AFRO was able to speak with two youth members of the cadet program about the Tendea Family and the work being done.
“It’s really a family,” said Dia Kess, a squad leader for the girls at Tendea Family. “When you come, everybody knows you. They know if you’re mad, sad or excited. They know what you’re doing in school, outside of school…they know everything.”
Dia said the cadet program features many opportunities for youth to become community advocates and leaders and give back.
“We focus a lot on history and grounding them in who they are,” said Miles about what the cadet program offers.
Mason Young, a member of the cadet program, said “It’s an honor” to be with the Tendea Family.
Mason, a Glenn Mount Elementary Middle School student, said some Baltimore youth “want to do bad stuff out there, like sell drugs, smoke” or “steal cars, but they can be helping the community and making money at the same time.”
“It’s way easier, and it’s not risking your life,” he continued.
Dia, 15, shared that through the program young members attend a variety of youth-focused events including one that recognizes King.
“Our founder, Elijah, would put on a video, and it would be one of King’s speeches,” said Dia, a Western High School student. “We had to memorize a specific part of that speech that meant something to each of us. Each person from a group would go up and say it with power and confidence like they meant what they were saying.”
Mason shared what the atmosphere was like when a student would recite the lines with strength.
“When they put that power into it, everybody stood up and just started cheering and clapping and everything,” said the 12-year-old. “It was powerful.”
Though the group will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, Miles said he believes his organization is still in its foundational phase.
“I think we’re still building the infrastructure for action,” said Miles. “Within the next 10 years, Baltimore City will see a whole lot more from Tendea Family and what we can accomplish.”