A White Woman with a Camera: My Happy Hill Mission

I don’t rattle easily.

But last Thursday evening, after sharing a slice of pizza and plenty of laughs with Denise, the energetic Fun Director at Sky-Vue Skateland, I drove to the Happy Hill neighborhood in Rocky Mount. I had my phone camera in hand, planning to check on the state of things since I last visited.

What I saw shocked me.

I’ve written about deterioration before, but what greeted me that night in Happy Hill, had slipped far beyond decline. It was devastation. Far flung. Heartbreaking. I am going to run my own campaign with Stepheny words to raise some hell about what I found.

I stopped on Star Street, then circled Tillery, Thomas, Gay, and Pine. Rain was moving in, and dusk settled early. The streets were nearly empty, but not silent. One by one, three different neighbors from three different stops approached, each wondering what a white woman was doing alone in their neighborhood at that hour, phone out, photographing what the City would prefer not to see.

Their curiosity turned into kindness. I explained myself to those who came to check on me. When I told them what I was doing, their suspicion melted.

A lovely woman didn’t want me to ride further into the area, but I took her support and caution, but, of course, had to see more.

“Keep talking, honey,” one older gentleman told me. I promised him I would. As I expressed my outrage over what I had found, I got nothing but agreement.

So here I am, keeping that promise.

Happy Hill was once a proud and vibrant neighborhood. Today, it is being allowed to decay beyond recognition. Crumbling porches, gaping roofs, sagging awnings, and homes still occupied amid ruin. These are not necessarily abandoned homes. Maybe it was the graying skies, but I felt like I was in the grocery passing the cold cases where light turn on as you pass except in Happy Hill there was little light.

Since redistricting after the last census, Happy Hill falls under the responsibility of Councilman Reuben Blackwell, who has represented Rocky Mount since 2000 and is running unopposed in this October’s City Council election. While he may not be directly responsible for the years of decline that preceded the redrawing of district lines, he is now, and has been for years, in a position to notice and respond.

How you cannot be driven to save Happy Hill makes me wonder if Mr.Blackwell has gone to Happy Hill recently?

The condition of homes and streets of the residents I met are not acceptable. The silence surrounding this neglect, political and civic, is deafening.

This visit marks the beginning of a campaign I will carry forward on Mainstreetrockymount.com. Not a political campaign, but a preservation one. A human one. The story of Happy Hill will not be told in whispers. I will continue to publish what I see and hear, starting with the photographs I took Thursday night.

If it takes a white woman with a camera to draw attention to this place, then I accept that role.

But what I hope is that more people, of every color, with or without cameras, will come take a look for themselves. Standing in the street holding a hand, the curtain is pulled back on what the residents are enduring.

And when that happens, we have a choice: Ignore the scene or try to raise awareness. We can do this, we should do this!

Please, as a city, we cannot continue to avoid pockets in Rocky Mount like Happy Hill. Whole neighborhoods are allowed to fade and it is a scandal Rocky Mount Leadership collectively must address.

Start with Codes that are not being enforced! You have to ask yourself WHY? No money to be made under the table? This is a significant area of housing for significant people that have been left to sit in their ashes. Starting with Councilman Blackwell, be the Pheonix that helps them rise.