‘ A complete tragedy’
Braddock mourns loss of street preacher, anti- violence crusader after fatal shooting
Braddock is mourning the loss of a community fixture after the shooting death Saturday of the neighborhood’s well- known street preacher, boxing coach and activist, the Rev. Sheldon “Sarge” Stoudemire.
A 19- year- old Braddock resident has been charged in the killing of the ordained Baptist minister in the North Side’s California-Kirkbride neighborhood.
“Rev. Stoudemire would have been the first one to forgive him,” Sgt. Pedro Valles, of the neighboring Rankin Police Department, said of the suspect. “If he would have survived this, his first meeting would have been with that kid.”
Rev. Stoudemire, a former Army Ranger, boxing champion and social worker, made his mark on the Mon Valley communities east of Pittsburgh, often standing at Sixth Street and Braddock Avenue, preaching to anyone who would listen. Police officers knew to call him if a family found themselves in the crosshairs of neighborhood violence.
“If something happened, and we thought a family needed counseling, he would show up at 2 or 3 in the morning to comfort them, to pray with them, whatever,” said Sgt. Valles, who bonded with Rev. Stoudemire two decades ago over boxing and discussing community issues.“It’s going to be hard to get somebody to fill that role.”
It was about 3: 20 a. m. Saturday when violence took the life of Rev. Stoudemire, 57. During his overnight shift across town at the Northside Common Ministries men’s homeless shelter, the reverend refused entry to Gerard Adams, 19, based on after- hours protocol. Adams fired a gun through the shelter door, striking Rev. Stoudemire in the chest. He died roughly an hour later at Allegheny General Hospital. Adams is charged with homicide and gun and drug offenses.
“When I heard about it, I was like, ‘ No, it can’t be him.’ But unfortunately it was,” Braddock Police Chief Guy Collins said. “In reality, it’s a double loss: You have a young man who more than likely [ will] end up spending his life behind bars.”
That’s exactly the situation Rev. Stoudemire tried to help
young people avoid, close friends say.
Lee Davis, 49, of East Pittsburgh, said he remembers as a teenager seeing Rev. Stoudemire jogging around Braddock.
“We were always curiouswho was this black man jogging through the neighborhood. Why was he staying in shape? You didn’t see a lot of black men jogging through certain neighborhoods,” Mr. Davis, a group violence intervention expert and CEO of Lee Davis & Associates Consulting, said. “We started hearing whispers that he was a boxer. That was inspiring. After a while, he started talking to us.” Mr. Stou de achieved success in boxing as a young man, including while he was stationed in Germany for two years as an Army Ranger in the 1980s.
According to a 2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report, Mr. Stoudemire held a 126-6 amateur record, earned 14 titles and went undefeated in his professional career. He left the sport in 1992. Tika Hemingway, 33, of Tarentum, the 2009 Team U.S.A. National Boxing champion, credits Rev. Stoudemire for her initial interest in the sport. Ms. Hemingway won the 2019 national Golden Gloves title. “My first coach, Sheldon Stoudemire, got me involved and I’ve been in the ring ever since,” she said in her Team U.S.A. bio.
In 2006, Rev. Stoudemire rbecamee the first street patrol director for the Pittsburgh chapter of MAD DADS — Men Against Destruction Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder — looking out for neighborhood violence in Wilkinsburg, East Pittsburgh and other bordering towns. He helped run the program in Clairton for a brief time. “You have a man who was an Army Ranger, had experience [in] several pro fights and dedicated his calling to the ministry but continued training fighters. He was a perfect fit for MAD DADS because he had the balance to bring courage with also the right temperament,” said George Spencer, of Wilkinsburg, who heads the local chapter.
Gisele Fetterman, who runs the Braddock Free Store, said she and her husband, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a former mayor of Braddock, lived across the street from Rev. Stoudemire and his wife, Karol, for several years.
Rev. Stoudemire unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the borough after Mr. Fetterman left.
“He was a really fascinating man. He had so many interesting stories. He was just always around. He would popin to the boxing gym, the Free Store. [Not seeing him] is going to be hard to get used to,” Ms. Fetterman said. “And to know his life was taken while he was doing service is a complete tragedy.”
Rev. Stoudemire was still training kids and teens in boxing at the time of his death. Sgt. Valles said his 8year-old son had just been taking lessons with him. Mr. Davis had also been in talks with the reverend about a new local boxing academy.
“If you listened, he’d talk,” Sgt. Valles said. “Now that he’s gone, you [realize you] kind of took it for granted.”