In 1997, Cherrydale Apartments was set to be sold and was in danger of losing its affordability protections. That's when Cleo Walker sprang into action. Walker, 83, who had lived at the Baltimore community for the prior 31 years, worked with local organizations including Enterprise to find a way to keep her home affordable.
“The owners wanted to give me one day, but I negotiated for three days. That is all the time we had to try to put a deal together,” said Walker, who has now lived at Cherrydale for 59 years. “I went to every organization I knew of — including the Maryland Low Income Housing Commission, ACLU and Enterprise — since I knew of them from my earlier work with (Enterprise founder) Jim Rouse.”
The stakes were high for the residents of the for-sale building. “If it became a market rate building, we could have been homeless, sleeping on the streets, or under bridges,” Walker said. “Luckily, Enterprise came to the rescue and hustled to get a deal together to buy the property in the short timeframe. Enterprise came in like a fresh wind to make the purchase happen.”
Renewed Energy After Purchase
The residents experienced renewed energy after the purchase that allowed it to remain as affordable housing. Walker describes how a resident council was formed to make requests for improvements. Soon thereafter, Enterprise added amenities including a laundry room and computer lab in addition to maintenance enhancements like a security gate, new paint, carpets, additional lighting and air conditioning. “It was heaven on earth,” Walker said.
“We all have a right to live in safe, decent, and affordable housing,” she explained. “You came in and did what [Enterprise founder] Jim Rouse cared and spoke about – showing compassion for people and making things right for them.”
Over the ensuing decades, Cleo Walker has made a lifelong commitment to community outreach and activism. She was recently celebrated by Maryland Governor Moore in his State of the Union address for her commitment to the people of Baltimore and her ongoing work to make her community safer.
As a community leader and organizer, she brings together the various stakeholders in the Cherry Hill community, which include the Baltimore City Southern Police District, clergy, Cherry Hill Community Coalition and Safe Streets of Cherry Hill to create events and activities to help make it a better, safer community. One activity is the annual National Night Out event, which she co-leads.
In addition to fostering safe streets, Walker previously created and offered resources for the children of Cherrydale Apartments. She organized reading programs and computer training to help her young neighbors develop the skills they need to succeed in life.
A Street Named Cleoda Walker Way
Known as “Momma Cleo” to many in the Cherry Hill community, she has a street named after her that borders Cherrydale Apartments: Cleoda Walker Way. Not only has she testified before the United States Congress and Maryland legislature on affordable housing policy, but she also previously worked with Jim Rouse to lobby elected officials to pass affordable housing related legislation.
Walker is also a Baltimore City police chaplain and a social justice minister to the Cherry Hill Ministerial Alliance. In 2023, she was inducted into the Cherry Hill Hall of Fame.
Walker is often asked why she’s lived so long at Cherrydale. She explains that “my mother and father were community activists too. Early on my mother told me ‘Don’t leave Cherrydale. Be like a tree, stay where you are planted and grow.’ So, I’m still here, working for safer streets and a safer community.”
And her impact extends like the roots of a well-watered tree. Decades after Enterprise preserved this property to keep it as an affordable community, Cleo Walker shines as an example of a local leader and resident liaison. As a resident of an Enterprise community, she continues to make an impact on her neighbors, her community, and her city.
