<div><img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_164356936396930_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" /><span> </span><br />
</div>



<div><strong>What is Handy Heights?</strong>



</div>






<div><span>Six months before the emancipation proclamation was signed, my great-great-grandmother, Florence Geneva, was born. She was the daughter of a Copiah County, Mississippi judge, Ephraim Peyton Jr., and an enslaved woman named Isabella. Florence's grandfather, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice, Ephraim Peyton Sr., was her mother's enslaver.</span>



</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643570600749434_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>Upon emancipation, the Peytons freed Isabella but decided to raise Florence in their home, acknowledging her as an offspring. At the age of nineteen, Florence became engaged to a man named Emanuel Handy Jr. Florence and Emanuel desired to have a cotton farm, so she asked her father if he would assist them with the purchase of some land. He agreed and purchased 40 acres of land for them. Florence and Emanuel had eleven children and over time, they grew their cotton farm to 116 acres commonly known as Handy Heights.





</div>






<div> 





</div>






<div><strong>Why is Handy Heights important? </strong>





</div>






<div> <span>Following slavery, over 14 million acres of Black farmland has been lost due to violence, the informal passing of land, unethical laws surrounding heirs' properties, financial hardships caused by income inequalities and discrimination from the United States Department of Agriculture. The fact that my family has held on to this land for more than 100 years is incredible. Handy Heights gave Florence and Emanuel the abilty to send all eleven of their children to either college or trade school, and I am fourth generation college-educated because of this land.</span>



</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643569970350738_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>The legacy my family built from Handy Heights is monumental. My great-grandfather, Rev. W.T. Handy, was a member of the Tuskegee quartet and sang at Booker T. Washington’s funeral.





</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_164356994265140_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>My grandmother, Dr. Geneva Handy Southall, was the first woman to get a Ph.D. in piano performance and later became chair of the Afro-American Studies department at the University of Minnesota. Her sister, D. Antoinette Handy, was the music director for the National Endowment of the Arts and wrote numerous books on Black women in music. Both classically trained musicians, Antoinette and Geneva toured Europe in the 1950s, something they couldn't do as Black women in the U.S.





</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643569636728332_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>Not only that, Handy Heights has traditionally been a place of sovereignty, healing, and resources for those in the community. For example, Emanuel Handy Jr. purchased the land across the street, establishing The Social Relief Cemetery, a cemetery for people in the community who could not afford to get buried. This cemetery still serves that purpose today.





</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643571714863403_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>At a time when hospitals were segregated, my Grand Aunt T.J., who lived on the land, was a midwife, helping give birth to nearly every Black person who is over the age of 50 currently living in Hazlehurst, MS. The Handys always grew food on the land, providing nourishment for those in the community, and my great-grandfather was a minister, making it his life mission to uplift and heal all who visited his church.





</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643571839730705_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643570781431012_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>Handy Heights is an important piece of American and Mississippi history that must be preserved and restored.<strong> </strong>





</div>






<div> 





</div>






<div><em>Handy Heights is a case for reparations. <br /></em>





</div>






<div> 





</div>






<div> 





</div>






<div><strong>Why we need help...</strong>





</div>






<div><span>We, as a family, would like to return Handy Heights to its former glory and continue to use the land as a space for healing, safety, and resources for Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the community and beyond. We have a small pecan orchard and hope to begin farming our pecans. We also would like to create an archival space on the land to protect and preserve our legacy.</span>



</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643572310207487_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>Unfortunately, time has not been easy on the land and structures. The two generations before me distanced themselves from the land, and for the past 15 years it’s been neglected and vacant. The houses are deteriorating more and more each day.





</div>






<div> 





</div>






<div><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643592120473630_r.jpg" alt="59156195_1643592120473630_r.jpg" width="100%" media_type="3" />
</div>






<div><br /><br /><img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643592753216091_r.jpeg" alt="59156195_1643592753216091_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" />
</div>






<div> 





</div>






<div>The homes of Handy Heights are historic. Our ancestors designed and built them from the ground up. They are a beacon of Black architecture, craftsmanship, and design.





</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643572753139314_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643573989220666_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>For the past year, with the help of my cousin George, I have been on a mission to clean up the land and restore my great-grandparents' home, Handy home 1. (To see the work we've done so far, check out <strong>@TheCreoleo</strong> on TikTok and <strong>@Creoleo</strong> &amp; <strong>@HandyHeights</strong> on Instagram).





</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643574297509834_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643572049186658_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643572104184612_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div> 





</div>






<div>We have made tremendous progress and are finally  on our way to having a livable home. My plan is to live in my great-grandparents' house, care for the land, and begin creating infrastructure for our ultimate vision. We have a five-year plan to restore all four houses fully, but if we do not act soon, Handy homes 2, 3, and 4 will reach the point of no return. We are asking for funds to begin saving (aka "mothballing") Handy homes 2, 3, and 4 so they don’t incur any more damages from the elements and fall to the ground. We cannot lose these houses!





</div>






<div> 





</div>






<div>Please help us preserve this vital piece of Black American history so we can share this land and story with the world, honoring the legacy our ancestors built.





</div>






<div> 





</div>
<img class="m-text-editor-image" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/59156195_1643573174323859_r." alt="" width="100%" media_type="3" />
<div><em>                                                                                                                                        “Go back and get it!”</em>





</div>

Ryan Thomas

Christopher Thomas

Help Save the Houses of Handy Heights

Support urgent earthquake relief and past recovery in Venezuela.

Apoya la ayuda urgente tras el terremoto y los esfuerzos de recuperación en Venezuela.

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

checkout headers audience

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Save the Houses of Handy Heights

Still $41,898 to go. Help us build momentum.