JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Dozens of Jeep owners, clubs, families, and community members rolled through Jacksonville’s streets Sunday afternoon as part of the second annual Stop the Violence Jeep Ride, a nationwide movement born from one grandmother’s grief and growing into a call for change in cities across the country.
The convoy gathered at the Maxwell House lot at 750 E. Bay Street before pulling out at 3 p.m. and riding through the Eastside, Historic Springfield, Rail Yard, and Brooklyn neighborhoods, carrying a unified message of unity, peace, and change in honor of lives lost to violence.
The ride was organized by MOBB JEEP — Making Others Be Better is a Jacksonville-based Jeep organization that uses the Jeep community as a platform for fellowship, outreach, and positive action.
How It Started: One Grandmother, One Loss, One Ride
The Stop the Violence Jeep Ride traces its roots to Detroit, where a woman named Monica lost her granddaughter to domestic violence. Determined to turn her grief into action, she organized a ride with her local Jeep crew through the streets of Detroit, and a movement was born.
Organizer Linda Marsh — known in the community as “Big Mama” said the story of how the ride began is inseparable from why Jacksonville showed up Sunday.
“The originator, her name was Monica,” Marsh said. “She lost her granddaughter to domestic violence, and she started this ride out within her Jeep crew. They rode around Detroit, and they did the nationwide ride out last year; that was the first year. And we invited other Jeep clubs, and we had an awesome turnout. So this year, round two, we are doing another ride out, invited the other Jeep clubs, and just looking forward to making our presence felt and known here in Jax.”
Marsh said she hopes events like this raise awareness and spur real advocacy to stop the violence locally.
“We’re a vast variety of people, brown and white and all different shades of people, different backgrounds, but we have this one thing in common,” Marsh said. “We’re here unified, standing against violence. And that’s the message that we hope to bring: that we’re one, and we’re here to stop the violence.”
For many participants, the message was deeply personal.
MOBB JEEP member Mercedes Hill said she lost her cousin Tony to violence on Father’s Day, just one week before last year’s ride.
“When we did our ride last year, a week before that I lost a cousin Tony on Father’s Day, and so that was very hard for me at that time,” Hill said. “It’s made it all the more meaningful to be out here with my group to ride, because now I’m bringing awareness to my cousin and our family.”
Fellow member Craig Nelson said he joined the ride to honor his cousin, who was killed in Miami 19 years ago.
“Unfortunately, I have been affected by violence,” Nelson said. “I had a cousin who actually lived in Miami that was killed 19 years ago. And I’m doing it for him.”
A Message Beyond the Ride
Co-founder Marvin Simpson said he hopes the visibility of the convoy inspires people who may be struggling to find a different path.
“Hopefully people see the Jeeps and get a little inspired,” Simpson said. “Always try to keep a positive attitude, and if you need, we’re on social media. They can always hit us up, and we can have a talk. There are other ways versus going the wrong route.”
Hill’s fellow rider Marcella Hamilton echoed that message of hope.
“No matter what socioeconomic place you come from, you can survive and get through things,” Hamilton said. “You have to first stop all of the violence, stop thinking negatively, and just do things that will increase positivity in your life.”
What’s Next
MOBB JEEP is approaching its fifth anniversary next week and is actively looking for new members to join the organization.
For more information or to connect with the group, follow them on Instagram at @MOBBJEEPJAX and @BIGMAMA2K22.