Not just a CNN Hero.
Many affectionately think of Shamayim "Mama Shu" Harris as the "mayor" of Avalon Village, the nonprofit organization she founded in 2016. Her work represents de facto municipal leadership — governing, building, and delivering public services. She is a longtime school administrator, ordained minister, mother, community builder, and a lover and fighter for the people. Her service in Highland Park spans decades across public safety, education, housing, health, infrastructure, and neighborhood development.
Nationally recognized and deeply rooted locally, Mama Shu is known for turning pain into purpose and vision into results. After the fatal hit-and-run of her two-year-old son Jakobi RA in 2007 and the unsolved murder of her 23-year-old son Chinyelu in 2021, Mama Shu took community building and serving families to another level. For 25 years she has given spiritual support to the community by officiating marriages and funerals, counseling families, and assisting people with grief, healing, and restoration.
Public Safety
Mama Shu developed the Avalon Village Peace Team, a uniformed, community-based public safety unit designed to function as a municipal-style security presence within Avalon Village. Built to ensure children, families, and elders are safe, the Peace Team provides daily visibility, conflict de-escalation, and neighborhood protection rooted in trust and accountability. This locally built public safety infrastructure reflects Mama Shu's belief that when systems need support, leaders must fill in the gaps — especially to protect children. In addition, Mama Shu, who for six years served as a reserve officer with the Highland Park Police Department, was the first female chaplain in the department's history. In the role of chaplain, Mama Shu was part of a corps that provided faith-based support services to the community during times of crisis and celebration.
Community Initiatives & Emergency Services
Mama Shu has developed and led numerous initiatives including the Keep Our People Warm Drive, Soup and Socks for Seniors, Mental Health and Wellness Services, Community Gardens, MLK Day of Service, Resource Fairs, Food and Essential Needs Distributions, and more. Avalon Village has served as first responders during water shortages and power outages. In addition, the village provides a resiliency hub that meets urgent community needs. The village is also a partner in the Highland Park Community Crisis Coalition (HPC3) along with Soulardarity and Parker Village.
Arts, Culture, & Entertainment
Avalon Village has organized and supported arts and cultural projects in the community to enrich family and community experiences within the city of Highland Park for many years. Events include: Reggae In The Hood, Hungry Black Man Food Festival, Highland Park Music Festival, hosting Hip Hop legends such as KRS-ONE, Shango Fireworks Festival, Whine & Wangs, the Art of House Block Party, Detroit Institute of Arts Inside Out Project, Christmas In July Event (for veterans), Music Art & Poetry (MAPfest), The Michigan Greek Picnic, Poetry In The Park, and more. In addition, Mama Shu has served as grand marshall of the Michigan Week Parade and the Juneteenth Parade in Highland Park.
Citywide Leadership
Mama Shu has held formal leadership roles that mirror the responsibilities of citywide executive governance including President of the Highland Park Board of Education, Chairwoman of the Highland Park Charter Revision Commission, and Vice President of the Highland Park Housing Commission. These roles placed her at the center of decisions shaping education, housing stability, and the structural future of the city.
State & County Leadership
Mama Shu's leadership has earned trust at every level of government. She is currently serving a second term with the Michigan Commission on Community Action and Economic Opportunity, appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. For nine years she has also worked in partnership with Wayne County, receiving properties entrusted for redevelopment and earning recognition for sustained community impact.
Education & Literacy
When Highland Park public schools were under emergency management, the city was left with just one remaining school in its district. Mama Shu recognized a fundamental truth of city-building: growing families choose cities based on educational viability. In addition to serving on the school board, in 2022 she completed "The Homework House," a community-based educational support system designed to aid learning, stability, and opportunity for Highland Park and neighboring youth. These programs include Sun Boy Records Music Camp and Hood Camp Urban Survival for Today's Youth. The Homework House also functions as a library, a critical service since Highland Park's library closed in 2002. The village includes a solar powered shipping container classroom, the Imhotep STEAM Lab, for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.
Land Use & Community Development
As Founder and CEO of Avalon Village, Mama Shu has purchased and stewarded more than 45 parcels of land in Highland Park, transforming blight to beauty and creating thriving community assets. She is nationally recognized as an expert on land use and grassroots community development delivering talks at Harvard University, University of Michigan, Howard University, University of Detroit, Lawrence Technological University, and more.
Public Lighting
Avalon Village is home to the first residential solar-powered streetlight in Highland Park. Mama Shu collaborated with Soulardarity and created an initiative called "WE LIT Avalon" which raised $75,000 to bring five additional solar streetlights with WiFi capabilities to Avalon Village, restoring light and providing much-needed connectivity after the community's streetlights were repossessed in 2011.
Health & Wellness
The Healing House, the newest project of Avalon Village, is currently under construction. This community-based health and wellness system will provide holistic care, mental health support, and healing services to residents. Supported by a half-a-million dollar Environmental Justice Impact Grant, The Healing House is a model for neighborhood-centered health care rooted in dignity, access, and prevention. The My Three Sunz Basketball Court is one of many features of Avalon Village providing additional health, wellness, and recreational opportunities.
Collaborations
Mama Shu and her team have partnered with numerous organizations to benefit Highland Park residents including: Wayne County, The Detroit Habituals, Forgotten Harvest, Motor City Food, Workforce Development Institute, SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic, Barber Preparatory Academy, George Washington Carver Academy, Highland Park Board of Education, Luma Solar, My Sister's Keeper, Rehab Highland Park, Focus: HOPE, Highland Park Business Association, Detroit Job Corps, SER Metro, Detroit PAL, Wayne Metro Community Action Agency, MDOT, Detroit Training Center, Parker Village, Soulardarity, Keep Kids Alive Drive 25, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), S&P Global, Keller Williams, Detroit Ready Mix, and more.
Awards & Accolades
Mama Shu is proud, humbled and honored to have received recognition from a number of prominent organizations locally and nationally including: CNN Heroes, USA Today Woman of the Year, Michiganian of the Year, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Fast Company Magazine World-Changing Ideas, The Rainbow Push Coalition "Let Freedom Ring" Award, Wayne County, Wayne Metro, Who's Who In Black Detroit, Detroit Regional Chamber, the Roeper School, eWomen Network, Highland Park Business Association, City of Highland Park Beautification Award, Career Mastered, and many others. As Ford Motor Company stated: "Ms. Harris, our committee feels that your dedication to founding Avalon Village, and bringing national attention to this important initiative in our city, is truly exemplary. Your commitment to rebuilding Highland Park by reducing blight and making the neighborhood a safer place for children to thrive is amazing and we are honored to recognize your service." – Ford Motor Company African-Ancestry Network
Mama Shu & The Media
Mama Shu's powerful and hopeful story has helped keep Highland Park in the local, national, and international spotlight over the last decade. Shu and Avalon Village have been featured on: The Ellen Show, CNN Heroes, Tamron Hall Show, the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, HLN, People Magazine, Anderson Cooper's "All That I Have" Podcast, Fast Company Magazine, PBS Roadtrip Nation, Fox News, Freethink, Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper, and countless times in local media outlets including Fox 2 News, Local 4 News, WXYZ-TV, CBS Detroit, Crain's, The Detroit News, The Detroit Free Press, SEEN Magazine, Michigan Chronicle, Model D Media, the MetroTimes, WDET, WJR, WWJ, WJLB, TV 33, and more. In addition, her inspiring story has been featured in the book Atlas of The Future, the Shinola "Roll Up Your Sleeves" campaign, at the Michigan Historical Museum, and in speeches at TEDx, the Detroit Policy Conference, and universities in Michigan and across the country. Mama Shu is the wife of an active community change agent and businessman, mother of four children — two daughters and two ancestor sons who now live on in the spirit world. She also has two beautiful grandsons.
