CLEVELAND — Local community building organization New Era Cleveland has been taking a grassroots approach to violence prevention since 2016.

What You Need To Know

  • The group is a local chapter of a national movement that aims to empower residents in urban neighborhoods to take an active role in community building 

  • They patrol neighborhoods while openly carrying weapons to prevent violence from taking place, and they offer youth programming, food distribution and more resources for residents

  • Recently, the group has paused those armed neighborhood patrols as leader Antoine Tolbert faces extortion charges filed over a confrontation with a gas station owner; Tolbert claims those allegations are false

“I always say that we are anything and everything at any given moment,” said New Era leader Antoine Tolbert, who also goes by Chairman Fahiem. “Whatever is needed. If we have to become a search party to go out and find a missing child, we’ll become that. If we have to become a food pantry, if we need to become an institution that is raising up and educating young people and community? We become that.”

They also do armed patrols of neighborhoods that report high rates of crime, openly carrying weapons, which is legal in Ohio.

Recently, the group has paused those armed neighborhood patrols as Tolbert faces extortion charges filed over a confrontation with a gas station owner; Tolbert claims those allegations are false.

“Safety to me is like, that’s mandatory,” Tolbert said. “So, we had a disagreement in regards to that, and so I started to advise people that were out around the store and that were coming into the store, ‘Hey, we should not spend any money here. This is why, this is what they said, they don't care about the safety of the children within the community.’”

Spectrum News reached out to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office, and they declined to comment as the case against Tolbert is still pending. However, the group and many community members have rallied together in support of the chairman, making public comments in city meetings about the work he has done, to help clear his name. 

New Era Cleveland is a local chapter of a national movement that aims to empower residents in urban neighborhoods to take an active role in community building. 

“I think folks are tired of sitting around waiting for the city to come up with a solution, and instead, we've come up with our solutions from within the community,” Tolbert said.

The members, all volunteers, grew up in the areas they serve and are trained in firearms, de-escalation, conflict resolution and trauma response. 

Their goal is to engage with residents before violence can even take place.

“Especially in a city like Cleveland where we're down, hundreds of police officers, folks are waiting extended period of time for a police officer to respond to a call for help. And so, again, our focus is being present in order to prevent situations from escalating.”

But, Tolbert said community building isn’t just about patrolling the streets for crime.

New Era offers youth programming and a number of other resources for residents, from food pantries to free closets. They also partner with local businesses to create designated “safe zones” marked with a window sticker.

“They know if they see this decal, this is a place where they can come get, they can come receive support in their experience, any type of crisis. Even something as simple as a place of refuge,” he said.

One of those partners is Marquita Phillips, owner of Texture Experience salon. She grew up with Tolbert and said his work has uplifted the neighborhood.

“We know a lot of crime going on, like everybody know a crime in the Buckeye neighborhood,” Phillips said. “But it's like hooking up with him, we can talk to certain people that we've seen growing up in our lives and say like, stop it, Don't move like that.”

But not everyone is eager to trust the group. In 2022, Tolbert was falsely arrested and received a settlement from the city. And, he sometimes struggles to get certain members of the community to understand his mission. 

Tolbert said one gas station was a longtime hotspot for crime when he approached the owner about becoming a safe space.

“This intersection was like, initially what really made us start doing the patrols in the neighborhood, hyper focusing on this location, specifically addressing some of the safety concerns,” Tolbert said.

It took convincing, but now six months of partnership later, Tolbert and the owner said things have calmed down significantly there.  

He and his supporters said they'll continue to fight to clear his name, so they can get back to work, doing what they feel is their duty - protecting their community and building the neighborhoods they wish they had when they were kids..

“Now we're seeing kids out late at night on Buckeye, playing football in the street, playing with sparklers on their front porch,” Tolbert said. “Like just being able to get back to do these things that a lot of communities do every day and take for granted.”

Tolbert said the group doesn’t receive payment for patrolling neighborhoods or designating safe zones, but they do welcome a $25 donation to support their programming.