The grant will be utilized to document significant narratives from residents concerning Black life in Winston-Salem throughout the Jim Crow and Civil Rights periods.

Winston-Salem, NC (Feb. 24, 2024) — Triad Cultural Arts (TCA) has been awarded a grant from North Carolina Humanities to support the Shotgun House Legacy Site project. This is the third time TCA has received a grant from North Carolina Humanities, one of the oldest and largest cultural funders in North Carolina.

Grant funding for the project, which will be completed in three phases, will help restore an early twentieth-century shotgun house and serve as a vivid depiction of the lived experiences of Black/African American individuals, particularly during pivotal periods such as Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement and other landmark events. Grant funds will be used to help with phase one of the project, hosting community engagement sessions aimed at recording, collecting, sharing and exploring the history and culture of Winston-Salem’s Black community through the lens of the Happy Hill neighborhood, the city’s first planned Black community dating back to 1872. 

While working in collaboration with The Happy Hill Neighborhood Association to elevate the neighborhood’s contributions to the local historical narrative, TCA recognized the lack of an organized platform to collect and accurately preserve the stories and memories of individuals from the community. Additionally, desiring to ensure the visitor experience to the Shotgun House Legacy Site revolves around the lived experiences of the neighborhood’s former residents, TCA will begin phase one of the project by facilitating community engagement sessions designed to support the creation of such an experience. 

The first community engagement session will be held in partnership with the Friends of the Library on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. at the Mallory/Jordan East Winston Heritage Center Branch Library (1110 East Seventh St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101). Visitors will hear from Winston Salem African American Archive’s Linda Dark on East Winston’s past, mark their place on a map of East Winston from the 1950s and share stories about their life in East Winston. TCA will be on site to record visitors’ oral histories.  Additional community engagement sessions will be held to collect stories at the Enterprise Center from March through May. If you would like to participate, please call 336-757-8556 or email triadculture9@gmail.com. These events are made possible by a grant from North Carolina Humanities, a statewide nonprofit and the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“We are grateful to be among the organizations North Carolina Humanities selected to receive grant funding,” said Director Cheryl Harry. “We firmly believe that involving the community in shaping the future of this site is an essential initial step. Moreover, our unwavering commitment is to ensure that the Shotgun House Legacy Site revolves around the lived experience of former residents and their relatives and friends, establishing a profound emotional connection to each of the site’s visitors. This project will contribute to having a cohesive historical narrative about Black life in Forsyth County, one that might otherwise be lost and forgotten.”

Shotgun houses echo the Black experience throughout the South. Their architectural style is an iconic symbol of Black American resilience. Relatively inexpensive to construct, the shotgun house is rectangular, one room wide, and up to three rooms deep with a front porch. This architectural style originated from Yorubaland (West Africa) via Haiti to the American South. The word shotgun itself is derived from the Yoruba word “to-gun.”  In Yoruba this word means place of assembly, or where people gather.

For more information or to donate to the Shotgun House Legacy Site, visit www.shotgunhousews.org.

 ###

Triad Cultural Arts, Inc. (TCA) was founded in 2007 as a nonprofit, community based, multi-disciplinary cultural arts organization. A leader in bringing recognition to Black American history and culture, TCA is dedicated to presenting programming that contributes to a culturally competent community so that significant and lasting improvements can be made in our society. Culturally immersive experiences including festivals, tours and special events are sponsored to preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of Black Americans – for all people. Learn more at triadculturalarts.org.

About North Carolina Humanities: Through public humanities programs and grantmaking, North Carolina Humanities connects North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community. North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. To learn more visit www.nchumanities.org. Any views, findings, conclusions, opinions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of NC Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.