By Drew Martin, WE in the World.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, holds within its streets a story both inspiring and heartbreaking—a city shaped by the brilliance of Black innovation and deeply scarred by policies of erasure. Yet despite generations of systemic injustice, what endures most powerfully is resilience.

A Legacy of Innovation and Community

In the early 20th century, Black neighborhoods in Winston-Salem thrived as hubs of business, culture, and civic life. Depot Street once stood as a testament to Black entrepreneurship, home to bustling shops, doctors’ offices, and community spaces. Happy Hill, one of the city’s oldest Black neighborhoods, fostered generations of families rooted in self-sufficiency, education, and mutual care.

Faith institutions, too, played a central role—not only as places of worship but as community organizers, economic anchors, and safe spaces in the midst of racial terror. Black educators, business leaders, and farmers created networks of support that laid the groundwork for a self-sustaining community.

Erasure Through Policy

But Winston-Salem’s story is also one of displacement. Urban renewal programs in the mid-20th century,marketed as progress,resulted in the destruction of Black homes, businesses, and entire neighborhoods. Highways were built where communities once stood. Redlining limited access to loans and land. Generational wealth was stripped away, not by accident, but by design.

These actions mirrored national patterns of racial injustice, placing Winston-Salem’s history within a larger American context of inequality.

The Legacy Never Dies

And yet, through it all, the spirit of Black resilience remains deeply embedded in Winston-Salem’s DNA.

It lives in the descendants of Happy Hill, who preserve the stories of their ancestors and fight to protect what remains. It echoes in the voices of local organizers who advocate for housing justice and education equity. It blossoms in community gardens started by Black farmers reclaiming their right to the land. It sings in the choirs of churches that remain vital pillars of faith and activism.

Today, artists, historians, and youth leaders are restoring erased narratives and reimagining the future. Murals, oral history projects, and cultural festivals like the are bringing forward the voices that once were silenced.

Moving Forward

The story of Winston-Salem’s Black community is not just about loss, it’s about legacy, resistance, and rebirth. It’s a reminder that while structures may fall, the roots of community run deep. And from those roots, new growth is always possible.

As the city reclaims its past, it  holds the possibility of honoring that past through equity, preservation, and investment in Black futures.

Winston-Salem is still building. Still fighting. Still rising.