{"id":376356,"date":"2026-02-12T07:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenvillejournal.com\/?p=376356"},"modified":"2026-03-02T09:46:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:46:48","slug":"longtime-community-advocate-felsie-harris-lifts-up-greenvilles-haynie-sirrine-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenvillejournal.com\/black-history-month\/longtime-community-advocate-felsie-harris-lifts-up-greenvilles-haynie-sirrine-neighborhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Longtime community advocate Felsie Harris lifts up Greenville\u2019s Haynie-Sirrine neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: In honor of Black History Month, this is the second in a series of features highlighting the impact of individuals and organizations in the Upstate\u2019s Black community. For more, visit greenvillejournal.com\/black-history-month<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Felsie Harris began each meeting of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association with a prayer, asking God to make her neighborhood the best community in Greenville.<\/p>\n

Haynie-Sirrine is known as one of the first Black communities in the city, established in the late 19th century. The neighborhood sits south of downtown Greenville, intersected by Church Street and bordered by University Ridge to the north and Augusta Street to the west.<\/p>\n

The historic neighborhood has been Harris\u2019s lifelong home since her birth in 1947. Harris grew up on Dixon Avenue with her parents, grandparents and five younger siblings. She attended Sullivan Street Elementary and graduated from Sterling High School in 1965.<\/p>\n

Harris lived in Haynie-Sirrine<\/a> during the neighborhood\u2019s period of decline in the mid-20th century. Rising crime rates and substandard housing negatively impacted the neighborhood. Harris said her family was poor growing up, but she didn\u2019t know it at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we had everything we needed,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWe had food. We had good times, had loving parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from high school, Harris continued to live in Haynie-Sirrine as a wife and mother of five children. Her family moved a few times over the years but always returned to Haynie-Sirrine. In 1998, Harris was encouraged to join the neighborhood association by her neighbor, Lula Mae Lewis.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me if I was going to move back, I needed to be part of making sure the community grew and progressed, more than just yard cleanups,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

Felsie Harris becomes president of Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association<\/h2>\n

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She helped improve Haynie-Sirrine by advocating for new affordable housing, creating a community garden and working with the Greenville Police Department to reduce crime. Harris has also strived to protect the neighborhood as development and growth pressures have continued to alter the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been given a great chance to do something good in my community.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Felsie Harris, president of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association<\/em><\/div>\n

Harris said that for many years she worked alone as the neighborhood\u2019s sole advocate. She also received pushback from some of her neighbors who were wary of change in Haynie-Sirrine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t stop me, and it helps when you are nice to people,\u201d Harris said. \u201cYou know the old saying, \u2018You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris believes there\u2019s still more work to do for Haynie-Sirrine, such as building more affordable housing in the neighborhood. In recent years, Harris was involved in creating a new master plan for Haynie-Sirrine, which informed the neighborhood\u2019s recent rezoning. Both the master plan and new zoning offer more protections for the neighborhood and will help guide future development.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the city of Greenville honored Harris for her years of service to Haynie-Sirrine by dedicating a street in her name within the neighborhood. Harris said she was overwhelmed to receive the recognition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always going to be remembered in Haynie-Sirrine,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

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