- Credibility:
WICKER PARK — Pastor Tommy and Helendora Samuels, of Helendora Samuels Picture Framing, will lead a march against violence this weekend in Wicker Park.
At 3 p.m. Saturday, the husband-and-wife team will meet at the corner of North and Hermitage avenues to march against violence and for equality, love and peace. Marchers are asked to wear a mask.
The march was partially inspired by this summer’s uptick in violence, Tommy Samuels said last month.
“This is one way we feel like we can contribute to stop the shooting,” he said. “A 7-year-old girl got shot. That’s crazy.”
Located at 1736 W. North Ave., Helendora Samuels Picture Framing opened six years ago and is one of the few Black-owned businesses in Wicker Park.
After Block Club profiled the framers‘ struggles amid coronavirus, a reader created a GoFundMe fundraiser to support the business.
Tommy and Helendora Samuels grew up on Chicago’s South and West Sides and currently live in suburban Oak Park. Saturday’s march is co-sponsored by the couple’s church, The Righteous Way of Living Ministries, and nonprofit Stepping Out In Faith/I AM Austin. Neighborhood leaders with the Wicker Park Committee helped organize the march, too.
Through Stepping Out In Faith/I AM Austin, Helendora Samuels teaches framing and cosmetology to children. She organizes annual toy, coat and boot drives. On Friday nights, the couple invites children from the West Side and from Wicker Park to their framing shop for art lessons.
Helendora Samuels hopes these efforts will create a “bridge” between Wicker Park and Austin.
“I don’t believe in color,” she said last month. “I just believe in love.”
Credit: Helendora Samuels / Provided To learn more about the Samuelses framing business, email samuelsframegraphicsstudio@gmail.com. Place an order by calling 312-770-0713.
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