When Elizabeth Gerald lost her teenage daughter seven years ago to suicide, she found herself at a crossroads.
“You have two choices: You either sit in the house and feel sorry for yourself … or you get out and you honor your child’s legacy,” Gerald said. “It’s healthier; it’s more beneficial, so I chose to honor her legacy.
“I turned my pain into my power.”
Gerald formed The MJG Movement, incorporating the initials of the late Marcie J. Gerald. The group provided food to about 300 area residents just before Thanksgiving. And Gerald, of Lansing, has more generosity in store for Christmas.
The MJG Movement along with Park Forest School District 163 and Victory Christian International Ministries together are hosting a Christmas Around The World Giveaway from 2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 20 at 10 Hemlock St. in Park Forest, providing toys, coats, baby items and more for people in need.
“It’s such a good feeling,” Gerald said of making a difference in her daughter’s name. “I wanted her legacy to live on.”
Marcie was the victim of a sexual assault when she was 14 years old and the family was living in Flossmoor. Gerald said the perpetrator was immediately taken into custody, but Marcie had to be in court regularly following the brutal attack.
“The whole ordeal was very traumatizing,” Gerald said, noting the family got Marcie all the help it could. “There’s only so much a doctor can do.”
After Marcie died, Gerald said people would tell her “Black people don’t kill themselves” or that she should keep her daughter’s death quiet, as though she should be embarrassed to explain what happened. Gerald decided to go the other way and become a “voice for the voiceless.”
“I wanted to talk about mental health and suicide and sexual assault in Black and brown communities,” she said. “We don’t talk about these things. They’re stigmas and taboos.”
Part of Gerald’s mission with The MJG Movement is to bring light to those issues to stop the stigma. The Movement works with individuals and families who are dealing with suicide, mental illness, sexual assault, domestic violence and bullying by offering counseling, referrals to doctors, housing search help, assistance with orders of protection and advocacy in court.
“We have more suicides than homicides in our communities, but because of the stigmas and taboos, a lot people will say their child died of natural causes,” Gerald said. “We have to do more. If we don’t love and respect us, nobody else will.”
Gerald also does motivational speaking and educational workshops. And she was featured in a short documentary called “Who Was Marcie?”
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that is available for free on Tubi.The MJG Movement motto is to “Be The Voice — Be The Reason — Be The Light.” Gerald said more celebrities coming forward in recent years with stories related to mental health has helped to get other people talking. And articles about Marcie have led to more people sharing their own stories related to sexual assault with Gerald.
“More and more people just started coming out and feeling free to talk to me,” she said.
At first, revisiting her own daughter’s death in those conversations was difficult.
“Seeing your child in the casket is one of the hardest things anyone can go through,” she said. “You don’t think you’re going to bury your child; you think they’re going to bury you.”
But she found purpose in trying to save lives, making someone else a little happier or being the reason someone ate that day. Gerald said her daughter would help feed homeless people and did a lot of other volunteer work in the Southland.
“The good thing is when you have so many people telling you, ‘Hey, thank you, you saved my life; I’m so grateful to you,'” Gerald said.
Sponsors such as Aldi and Pete’s Market have stepped up to help Gerald make events such as the MJG Movement’s annual Thanksgiving Food Giveaway possible. Multiple organizations are already helping collect toys, coats, hats and more for MJG Movement to distribute for Christmas, Gerald said. And celebrities who have heard about Gerald’s efforts have reached out to offer their support. Still, Gerard said she funds a lot of the work the Movement does out of pocket.
In September, Gerald received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for her work with the MJG Movement. Gerald said she was happy to be recognized, but she is driven by every “thank you” she receives from someone the organization helped.
“That’s what keeps me going,” Gerald said. “It’s one of the best feelings to know that you’re appreciated.”
For more information about the MJG Movement or to help, email [email protected].
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.