Artwork portrays Spartanburg's vibrant black history

State Rep. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers remembers the thriving businesses, schools, churches, and residential blocks decades ago. We loved the Black part of Spartanburg. She lived there.

All of that is largely gone now, thanks to urban renewal programs of the late 1960s and early 1970s that addressed substandard housing but also displaced residents and destroyed businesses.

To honor the community’s rich history, Henderson-Myers helped lead the development of an installation that will be unveiled this weekend – the Southside Cultural Monument.

She and other community leaders will gather on Saturday, June 14, at 10 a.m. for a presentation of the monument.

The monument features panels showcasing people and places that made the Southside a strong community.

The monument sits at the corner of South Converse Street and Hudson Barksdale Boulevard – an entry point to the Southside neighborhood.

“If you looked at Spartanburg today, you would have no clue there was such a vibrant community that once occupied that part of town,” Henderson-Myers said.

She described the installation as “one of the more consequential projects” in recent years to honor Spartanburg’s Black history – and an effort she hopes “will inspire people to help bring back the Southside community as much as we can.”

Henderson-Myers envisioned the project after a 2018 trip to Columbus, Ohio, where a monument honoring the city’s Black history and culture made a moving impression.

“When I saw the wall in Columbus and what it consisted of and the themes it presented, I thought, ‘This is like Spartanburg,’” she said.

She didn’t get traction right away, but eventually gained the support of private donors and colleagues in the state legislature. The state contributed $940,000 to the project.

Along the way, the City of Spartanburg’s African American Heritage and Cultural Committee, chaired by former mayor James Talley, consulted on the content of the monument.

“They put a lot of work and time into the project,” Henderson-Myers said. “They made sure it captured the history of the Southside and recognized the different people who were an important part of the community.”

At a groundbreaking ceremony in 2023, artist Jessica Scott-Felder described her work this way: "One of the first things I saw was that this community needed representation. Where were people of color being celebrated in spaces with artistic meaning? It's just been so informative and transformative for me as an individual. The community has a memory, and historians interpret history. This monument will be the bridge for those two areas."

Beside the monument is a small outdoor classroom that, once fully installed, will feature interactive displays.

A booklet with extensive information about the history of the Southside also accompanies the installation of the monument.

Henderson-Myers hopes the project will be significant for local youth.

“For our young people, I wanted to give them a sense of hope about what can be achieved by telling the story of what made the community what it was,” she said.

The June 14 event will be open to the public and include the unveiling, remarks from several leaders, and a musical performance. A reception will follow at the nearby Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg.