MICHELLE “BUNNY” GREGORY, 55, grew up on Charlotte’s west side, and she’s watched the area change, imperceptibly at first. In the mid-2010s, as gentrification gained momentum there, Gregory launched The Underground, a collective to support young Black artists. Since then, The Underground (not related to the Live Nation venue of the same name) has evolved from a venue and gathering space—first at a warehouse in NoDa, then at another on Monroe Road that closed in 2016—to a community that organizes and hosts an assortment of arts-related events, from regular bonfires to art shows around town.
Last year, Gregory achieved her longtime goal of acquiring a school bus to deliver art instruction and activities to neighborhoods throughout Charlotte, especially where she grew up. The force behind each of The Underground’s iterations is Gregory herself, who’s driven by the belief that art can create opportunity—and help the west side maintain and celebrate its historically Black character.
Here’s Gregory in her own words, edited for space and clarity.
I STARTED DOING The Underground thing over 10 years ago. It was all about me finding other Black artists here, which, growing up in the ’80s in Charlotte, I didn’t think existed. I didn’t know where to meet them or how to be a part of that movement.
I’M THINKING, Probably not going to be around long. Nobody’s going to come through. When I first opened the doors, that place was crowded ’til the doors closed. I met so many Black artists here in Charlotte: visual artists, chefs, gardeners. We had a bonfire every Tuesday night, rain or shine. The first bonfire, there were about 11 of us. After that, it could be anywhere from 50 to 120 people.
Bu hikaye Charlotte Magazine dergisinin March 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Charlotte Magazine dergisinin March 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'
Pediatric neurosurgery is technically and emotionally complex—and traditionally dominated by men. As Novant’s first female pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Erin Kiehna Richardson has had to learn the intricacies of a demanding field and battle sexism along the way
The Dumbledore of CMC
A surgery resident wrote a series of children’s books and created a special kind of medical magic
LGBTQ HB2+5
Five years after the furor of House Bill 2, the LGBTQ community—in Charlotte, in North Carolina, and across much of the nation—fights attacks on new fronts
Oh, Snap!
New ‘selfie museum’ in Concord celebrates the 1990s
ALLISON LATOS
The WSOC anchor on her hard trek from one episode of loss and grief to another—and the meaning of resilience
GOOD HEALTH
For years, Charlotte has been one of the largest American cities that lacked a four-year medical school. The health care professionals who finally made it happen overcame a series of setbacks, false starts, and failures, and they plan to use their clean slate to create a new kind of community asset
Summer Partee
From woodwork to retail, the kindergarten teacher-turned-designer has learned how to do it herself
Uptown or Downtown?
Archives illuminate how long we’ve argued over the perennial question
NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN
Paul Verica brings a simpler version of the city’s hottest food trend to NoDa
TOP DOCTORS 2021
The annual list you can't without
