Busta’s Organization of the Week: Local organization plans to rebuild Happy Hill community back to its safe and family-oriented roots

By Busta Brown “Happy Hill is the first designated community for formerly enslaved people,” shared Tonya Sheffield. Tonya is the president of Happy Hill Neighborhood Association, who is working hard to preserve the Winston-Salem community’s rich history.  The Happy Hill community has a legacy of artists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, athletes, entertainers and more. “Our goal is to preserve what’s left of it in hopes of building, rebuilding, reclaiming what this community once was. We want people to understand this rich history, their connection to the ancestors that were there and to help revitalize this community – the energy, the knowledge and the awareness of their greatness.”  The organization is very proud of rebuilding Happy Hill back to the productive family-oriented community that attracted people from other cities to attend college locally. The Happy Hill Association community garden manager, Brenda Taylor, was one of them. “I moved to Happy Hill in the ‘70s to go to Winston-Salem State. Many of my friends did as well, and now have degrees from both Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina A&T.” The rich history of Happy Hill goes back to the 1700s and 1800s. It became the first local community – possibly in the...