Eric Smoot and his family came to Gary when he was 12 after being evicted from their Evanston, Illinois, home.
“My mom was a drug addict and I had to go live with my older sister,” he said.
Smoot, 52, not only survived the crack cocaine epidemic that swept through Black communities and his own family in the 1980s, but he found support outside his family to flourish.
Now a successful Wilmette, Illinois, fitness center owner, Smoot hasn’t forgotten his roots in Evanston and Gary.
Recently, Smoot, a 1991 graduate, and his Horace Mann track teammates established a foundation to award scholarships to Gary students in memory of their late track coach, Roosevelt “Chief” Pulliam, who died in April.
West Side Leadership Academy 2025 graduate KeRon Maxey received the first $2,000 scholarship at a recent Gary School Board meeting. Smoot attended the meeting and posed for a photo with Maxey.
Maxey is enrolling in a trade school to become an electrician.
The scholarship from the former Mann track athletes recognizes students who demonstrate leadership, perseverance, and service—the same qualities Pulliam instilled in his athletes.
Superintendent Yvonne Stokes called Smoot’s efforts “a powerful example of giving back and investing in the next generation of Gary students.”
Smoot has been providing school supplies to Beveridge Elementary students for years and this year, he provided 150 backpacks filled with supplies to each of the district’s five elementaries. He’s made donations to schools in Evanston and homeless shelters in Gary.
“My whole life, people helped me get me where I am today,” said Smoot. “If I wouldn’t have somebody sacrificing for me, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in. All I’m doing is trying to pass it on.”
Given the obstacles, his story is amazing.
At Tolleston Middle School, Smoot ran track and cross country, quickly attracting attention for his speed in distance runs.
When he arrived at Horace Mann High School, Smoot and Pulliam forged an unbreakable bond as Smoot landed on the varsity team as a freshman.
“He was a father, a coach, a counselor and my support system. He gave me confidence to believe in myself, and he gave me that structure and taught me a work ethic…”
His sophomore year brought more upheaval. By then, his older sister, Janell Smoot, had become addicted to crack. She lost custody of all four of her children and Eric and his twin sister, Erika, became separated.
He went to live with his best friend’s family and she moved in with her friend’s family so they wouldn’t have to go into foster. care
He never blamed his sister or mom.
“She had no support, we were living in deep poverty and she lost it,” Smoot said of his older sister. “She followed the suit of my mother.”
Again, the move proved positive. His new family, led by Judy Jemison, was poor but drug-free. Jemison told him she didn’t have much but he could live with them. Soon, she considered him a godson, as he’s recognized in her 2015 obituary.
Today, Smoot said his good deeds honor the sacrifices Jemison and Pulliam made for him.
Despite the turmoil, Pulliam didn’t ease up on his star runner.
“There was no pity party. He was like, ‘You control your own destiny,’” Smoot remembered.
Somehow, Smoot not only held it together but broke boundaries.
At the 1989 Indiana state track meet, Smoot became the first Black athlete to win the 1600-meter run. He would win it again his junior and senior years, leading Mann to the state title in 1991.
“Athletics was my saving grace, my refuge. Running was my way out, and running helped me keep my sanity.”
A high school All-American, Smoot snagged an athletic scholarship to Purdue University, where he was a runner-up for a Big Ten title.
By then, Gary was on its way to being named the nation’s murder capital. Soon, state police would be deployed to the city and the National Guard would begin tearing down crack houses.
Smoot still felt compassion.
“I competed not just for myself or my coach but for the city of Gary,” he said.
While he depended on Pulliam, Smoot also bonded with his track teammates who formed the foundation with him. They include Steve Lonzo, Edmond Bacote, Ricky Mitchell, and John Reed.
“Eric spearheaded it; he reached out to us,” said Lonzo, now a retired Michigan educator.
Pulliam’s influence kept the athletes connected over the years. “We always inquired about ‘Chief’ and his well-being,” said Lonzo. “A lot of us just really wanted to do for others what Chief has done for us.”
Lonzo said Smoot’s teammates had an inkling of his troubles, but “we knew only what Eric shared. Eric was always strong, committed and he did not allow those circumstances to derail him from the plan set forth for him.”
Lonzo, a team captain who ran the 400-meters and anchored the 1600 relay, said Smoot always remained positive. “Even under his circumstances, he was our team leader.”
After high school, Smoot received a degree in kinesiology and exercise science from Purdue in 1996.
Nearly 24 years ago, he opened Redefined Fitness in Wilmette, a personal fitness training center.
“The business is very successful,” he said. “There’s a lot of qualities in track and field and I’ve used the same characteristics in business, and it’s paid off.”
He and his wife, Jennifer, live in nearby Evanston with their two teen children.
His mother, Dorothy Smoot, left drugs behind about 30 years ago and moved to Minneapolis. She passed away recently, he said.
“She was clean and we had a wonderful relationship. She would give you the shirt off her back,” said Smoot.
His father, Alvin Hemphill, didn’t become part of his life till much later. He’s 85 now and lives in Evanston, also.
Smoot knows there’s a purpose in his challenges.
“There was a time I couldn’t tell my story, I had shame, I had hurt. We were evicted numerous times. Now that I’m older, I understand my story helped other people….
“When you go through things I go through, the biggest thing is empathy. We don’t have that anymore.
“I’m thankful every day. God puts angels in your life.”
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
