Levine Museum Of The New South Grier Heights Project Details 140 Years of History

The traveling exhibit, now at the West Boulevard Library, tells the story of how a tight-knit farming community became a bustling Black suburban neighborhood 

CHARLOTTE, NC — With Black History Month on the horizon, Levine Museum of the New South’s traveling exhibition Grier Heights: Community is Family is the perfect way to get your local history fix. 

The exhibition details the efforts of Grier Heights pioneers like Sam Billings and Arthur S. Grier, who laid the groundwork for the thriving Black community, and tells the stories of Black churches, schools, and traditions that became the cornerstones of life in Grier Heights.

Billings, a formerly enslaved person, bought about 100 acres of land near what are now Monroe and Wendover roads in the late 1800s. His land became a farming community for Black farmers. Billings wanted to create a place where Black people could control their livelihoods and flourish in their own community. 

Produced in collaboration with the Grier Heights Community Center and residents, the exhibit includes stories and photographs detailing 140 years of community history. 

The museum sought to spotlight a community that might not be well known, but had compelling stories, and the response has been overwhelming.

“We have received lots of positive feedback, from student excitement when recognizing their school in the exhibit, to community members’ emotional responses to recognizing some of their older relatives highlighted in the exhibit,” said Karen Sutton, Director of Community Engagement at Levine Museum. 

QR codes at the Grier Heights exhibition connect to interviews with current and former residents of Grier Heights, formerly known as Billingsville and later, Grier Town.

The exhibition, which opened Nov. 19, 2022 at the Grier Heights Community Center, is on display at its sixth stop – the West Boulevard Library, 2157 West Blvd. – until Jan. 31, when it will move to the Charlotte District Attorney’s office until May. 

Stories from the Grier Heights exhibition will be featured in a new exhibition at Levine Museum of the New South, set to debut March 9, that will tell Charlotte’s story from Catawba settlement to the present. The museum, at 401 S. Tryon St., will be closed Feb. 3-March 8 for installation.