WS Chronicle

By Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.D.

Connie Smith met George Stilphen, the executive director of Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful, in 2006. This organization began in 1989 as a nonprofit affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, the largest community improvement organization in the country. Stilphen has been the director for 23 years, and he describes the purpose of Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful is “for environmental education, beautification of the city, community litter cleanups, and for recycling.”

“Connie called me one day to discuss the adopt-a-street program because she wanted to help keep the streets in her neighborhood clean. Constance is one of many volunteers, but she did not decide to adopt only one street,” said Stilphen. “She is not alone. There are many other people who volunteer to clean up their community. They represent all genders, all socio-economic backgrounds, across racial lines.

 “Constance does it on her own, and we give her the gloves, safety vests, bags for recycling and trash, and other items she might need to keep her chosen areas clean,” said Stilphen. “It is so important to clean these areas because it instills a sense of pride in one’s neighborhood once it is clean. Once the area is cleaned, it gets less and less dirty because people tend to develop pride in their neighborhood.”

Smith, a member of New Bethel Baptist Church, has been seen cleaning the streets in Happy Hill Gardens where she grew up, at the Winston-Lake YMCA, outside of Alpha and Omega Church of Faith, in the Brewer Road area, in the Easton area, and so many others.

For Smith, a registered nurse and tour guide for Triad Cultural Arts, trash in the streets of Winston-Salem can create a negative mindset for those who continue to wade through it. In 2006, she took her son to a basketball camp at the Winston Lake YMCA. Because she did not want to sit inside the gym and watch the entire practice, she went outside to observe the area outside.

“I noticed that the YMCA had plenty of trash cans in the surrounding area, but there was trash all over the parking lot. God said, ‘Pick it up. Pick the trash up.’ I just started putting the bottles, cans, and paper into the trash cans. As I walked around the grounds, I would just pick up the trash and put it in the cans,” Smith said.

“Winston-Salem has always been a beautiful city. So many people have no respect for the place they live in, and that is heartbreaking to me,” said Smith. “I want to make the area look good. Some people just do not care how it looks. I wish that I could start a youth recycle club in the city. I would love to partner with Griffith Elementary. We can teach young people the importance of keeping our environment clean.

“It is unbelievable how people will dump their car ashtrays on the ground or throw cigarette butts in their own yards,” said Smith. “Cigarette butts have chemicals that can get into our water supply. It can be dangerous to our bodies. It would be nice if more people would take care of what God has given us. Put trash where it belongs. That way, we can free up more land for us to use,” said Smith.

“I just started carrying bags in my car, some trash bags, my reachers, my reflective vest, and some comfortable shoes. Sometimes it may be still dark outside when I am working. A few times, my friend Belva Marlin has helped me, but I am interested in getting more people involved,” said Smith.

Belva Marlin, a retired educator and trustee at Alpha and Omega Church of Faith, met Connie Smith at Parkland High School. They graduated from Parkland in 1973. When Marlin found out that her friend Connie was regularly cleaning the community, she helped her two times.

“I did not realize that she was cleaning the streets on a regular basis. But she is very committed to this mission,” said Marlin. “I do believe that God wants us to take care of the earth. I believe that He wants us to keep it orderly and neat. Some people just throw out a lot of trash, such as dirty diapers, bottles and cans, without considering the rules of recycling. Connie has been on her mission a long time.”

Smith has taken recycling classes that show her the rules of how to sort items for recycling. She still feels God’s urging to continue her work, but she wants to bring others along to help.

The prophet Isaiah announces good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, and comfort for the broken-hearted in Isaiah 61:3. He speaks “unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” 

In this scripture, Isaiah promises a crown of beauty instead of ashes to those who are poor and bound by negative circumstances. It was customary during biblical times to don sackcloth and sit in ashes during times of grief and repentance.  Ashes signify the human condition, our tribulations. But God has the power to cleanse the ashes from our lives and clothe us in the beautiful gift of redemption. Therefore, Isaiah is encouraging the people to look ahead, knowing that no destructive force in our lives is greater than God’s plan to redeem us all.