Grier Heights
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- James B. Lee oral history interview 1, 2018 May 22
- Grier Heights is a historic African American neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina that is experiencing rapid gentrification. James Bradley Lee, community historian and organizer, recalls his personal experiences in the Grier Heights neighborhood where he has lived many years. He remembers influential community leaders, including James "Jim" Polk, and George Dunlap, who mentored Mr. Lee as a young man, and he describes the local general store as being the “heart” of the neighborhood, suggesting that its absence has changed the spirit of the community. Mr. Lee also notes what he sees as a disconnect between Grier Heights' older and more recent residents, and how this relates to his desire to write a book about the neighborhood's history. Other topics he discusses include the implications of outside organizations' efforts to save the community, and his intention to use the voices of Grier Heights community members to slow down the gentrification that continues to drive residents further from center of Charlotte.
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- James B. Lee oral history interview 2, 2018 May 29
- In this second interview, community historian James Bradley Lee III continues to recall his personal experiences of growing up in Grier Heights, a historic African American neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, and his concerns about the effects of gentrification in the community in recent years. During the interview he discusses the significance of founders and leaders in the community, including Sam Billings who, despite being born into enslavement, was able to purchase the initial acreages that became known as Billingsville (later Griertown) in the late nineteenth century. He also discusses Arthur Grier, a prominent African American funeral director and developer who expanded the neighborhood for returning veterans in the 1950s, and he highlights the significant role of Grier Heights' five churches, which anchored the community. Mr. Lee describes the cohesion of the community when he was growing up and the positive influence of mentoring and summer camps such as Project Aries, which he would like to see re-introduced for local youth. He briefly outlines his military service, which took him away from the Grier Heights for some years, and he notes changes he saw in the community when he returned. He discusses how the crack cocaine epidemic impacted the community and explores the topics of generational poverty in Charlotte, and the lack of affordable housing within the neighborhood.
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- James B. Lee oral history interview 3, 2019 November 13
- In this third interview, James Bradley Lee III discusses the changes happening in his life and the challenging effects of gentrification in the Grier Heights neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Lee describes how he recently pulled himself out of experiencing homelessness, and his current work with the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice at Queen's University of Charlotte. He details his role with the Greenspon Center, where he works with a team to advocate for local affordable housing, with particular focus on those who earn thirty percent and below of the area median income. He elaborates on the various developments underway in the Grier Heights neighborhood and the tensions between the interests of long-time Grier Heights homeowners and renters, and the rapid economic development of the area. Mr. Lee also discusses his involvement with the movement for reparations for the destruction of Charlotte's uptown Brooklyn neighborhood, which was razed during the 1960s and 1970s as part of the city's urban renewal program. He expresses hope that the proposed new Brooklyn Village development planned for the site will allow for affordable housing. Mr. Lee concludes the interview by describing himself as a conduit between disparate societal groups in the community, and as a catalyst for change.
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- Marvin Price oral history interview 1, 2019 January 23
- Marvin Price, longtime resident of Grier Heights, a historically African American neighborhood in Charlotte North Carolina, discusses his personal and family history. Raised in Grier Heights from the age of three, Mr. Price describes his education in the local Billingsville Rosenwald School through the ninth grade, and at Second Ward High School in Charlotte's uptown Brooklyn neighborhood. He recalls the discipline teachers imposed on students, childhood pastimes, his entry into the barbering profession following the lead of his father and grandfather, and the local business district in Grier Heights that was known as The Rock where his barber shop was located. Mr. Price also reflects on his experiences with the indignities of racial discrimination and discusses the challenges that face the neighborhood and the broader Charlotte community today.
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- Wayne Johnson oral history interview, 2019 January 14
- Wayne Johnson, Charlotte realtor and longtime Grier Heights resident, discusses his deep family roots in Grier Heights, an historic African American neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Johnson describes how his maternal great grandfather, Henry Drenan, a multi-talented artisan and entrepreneur, moved to the area from South Carolina to become one of the original landowners in the neighborhood. He explains that at that time the community was known as St Loy Heights after the St Loy Church and that the name subsequently changed to Stumptown and eventually to Grier Heights. He relates that his paternal ancestors came from what had been the nearby Walker family plantation. Mr. Johnson's deep family roots in the neighborhood are evident in his familial connections that include the Clarksons, the Greens, the Kirkpatricks, the Watsons, the Phillips, the Polks, and the Alexanders among others. Many of his extended family are featured in the hallway of the Grier Heights Community Center, where prominent community members are documented and celebrated. Mr. Johnson recalls the close-knit nature of his family as he was growing up, his childhood pastimes, and his school experiences. He also relates his knowledge of neighborhood founder and entrepreneur Sam Billings, a former slave whose extensive farm was eventually developed for municipal and medical purposes. The interview concludes with further discussion of education, the dedication of his teachers, his mixed experience during desegregation, his outlook on current developments in Grier Heights and his hopes for the future of the neighborhood.