West Jackson Resident Works to Raise Profile of Neighborhood
Colonial Heights West Neighborhood Association President Sheka Epps
Sheka Epps is a platform hairstylist and community activist from North Jackson. She purchased a home in the Colonial Heights West neighborhood and became a West Jackson resident amid the COVID-19 pandemic. After returning home from an out-of-state visit, Epps could not drive down her street due to the amount of trash that had been illegally dumped blocking her way. “I got embarrassed. I got mad. And I got frustrated,” said Epps. She decided to turn her anger into action.
Epps solicited the help of a family member and together they cleaned up over two blocks of Colonial Heights West. “That’s how I became a community leader. I realized my community is suffering because it doesn’t have leadership and unity, and the people in my neighborhood are retired. They fought the good fight and needed someone else to take the reins. The shoe fit for me.”
Since becoming a community leader, Epps has played an instrumental role in building connections between residents in the neighborhood. Her work has bolstered the efforts of community-based non-profit organizations Revitalize Mississippi and Voice of Calvary Ministries, which have cleared dozens of lots and demolished more than 85 houses in Colonial Heights West and Country Club Place neighborhoods since 2019. Epps is actively working to re-establish the neighborhood association, going door-to-door to meet and encourage residents to connect and join the group. Epps understands that a shift in resident mindset, supported by entities like the Jackson Police Department and the City of Jackson, will help restore the community to its former glory. “When I researched its history, I learned this was once a rich and active neighborhood. The community was together, and I want to get that back,” said Epps. “A community has to have unity to be successful. That’s what I’m working on.”
MS State Representative Fabian Nelson, Colonial Heights West Neighborhood Association President Sheka Epps, MS State Representative Zakiya Summers, and Ward 5 City Councilman Vernon Hartley
Epps remains focused on being in the right places at the right time to learn and push ahead in the fight for her neighborhood. Moving forward, Epps is working with developers who want to purchase and renovate property on West Capitol Street. Voice of Calvary Ministries is also looking to build homes in the neighborhood. “This will help the community to see that we are trying to increase our property value. New homes show my neighbors it’s possible.” The Colonial Heights West Neighborhood Association, in collaboration with the Country Club Place Neighborhood Association, meets on the second Saturday of every month at Livingston Park at 10 am. With the support of JAN, Epps is forming a Friends of Livingston Park group to support sustainability efforts at Livingston Park, located across from her neighborhood at the Jackson Zoo.
In ten years, Epps envisions a more modern neighborhood with nice houses, sidewalks for families to walk, and a community garden. “There are stages to everything we do, and we will continue to work together as a community to be one voice.”
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