Ms Wanda Vardene Lucas Hill, age 82, passed away on October 17, 2008. Her obituary appeared on October 22 in the Winston-Salem Journal.
She was born in Santuc, SC on September 15, 1926. With a thirst for knowledge, Wanda was educated in the Winston-Salem, NC Public School system and graduated from Atkins High School.
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Atkins High School was founded in 1931, when Ms. Hill was 5 years old, as a school for "Negro children". It was named after Dr. Simon Green Atkins who was one of the organizers of the Slater Industrial Academy in 1892, which later became Winston-Salem State University. Although the original building is no longer in use, a new facility in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school system was dedicated in 2006 as the "Simon G. Atkins Academic and Technology High School."
Softly and tenderly, Wanda fought a good fight. She kept the faith. As she reflected on her life, she included her attendance at Wednesday evening Bible study at her church as a regarding experience that kept her well grounded
First Baptist Church, which Ms. Hill attended, is on Highland Avenue in Winston-Salem, across the street from what used to be the Kate Bitting Reynolds Hospital. In 1938, when Ms. Hill was 12 years old, "Katie B" was opened for the "colored citizens" of Winston-Salem. The building has gone through several renovations and re-incarnations over the years, from long-term care facility to health clinic to its current status as the home of Forysth County Social Services.
After high school, she attended Winston-Salem Teachers College (WSSU) where she met many friends whom she enjoyed throughout her life. She was faithful WSSU Ram who was a member of the Brown Alumni Chapter until her health began to fail.
Winston-Salem State University is a historically black university and about 30 miles from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. In 1960, when Ms. Hill was 34 years old, a group of students from NC A&T organized a series of sit-ins at the segregated lunch counter at the Greensboro Woolworth's store. These sit-ins spread across the South and were instrumental in leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbade segregation in public accomodations
Over the course of her lifetime and through it all, she found time to work and retired from Family Services, after which she began working with a senior program sponsored by the Urban League
The Urban League was founded in 1910 as a means of addressing the concerns of African Americans who headed north to find work in the factories and on the assembly lines. In 1961, when Ms. Hill was 35, Whitney Young became President of the Urban League and through his efforts at fundraising and outreach, the League became a vital part of the Civil Rights movement.
As Wanda stood on the promises, her final act of concern was to cast an absentee ballot for Barack Obama.
Rest in peace, Ms. Hill. You did not live to see history made, but history will be made because of you.