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80s Charlotte 1980-1989

1980 - An Artist Comes Home

October 12, 1980 - The man born at his great-grandfather's home near 2nd and Graham streets returns to the Queen City. Romare Bearden is now a nationally acclaimed artist who creates works of art from small pieces of glass, ceramic or paper in a method called collage. Bearden's works have hung in New York's finest museums and galleries. Today, Bearden's one-man show opens at Charlotte's Mint Museum of Art. 

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1981 - Discovery Place

October 31, 1981 - Discovery Place, Charlotte's hands-on museum opens. It has grown out of the Nature Museum, which has taught young children about the world around them since 1947. With its modern building on North Tryon Street, Discovery Place is the urban counterpart to the Nature Museum's 30 acres of lush woods near Freedom Park.

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1982 - Harvey Gantt

The man who was the first black student at South Carolina's Clemson College becomes the first black mayor in Charlotte.Mayor Gantt

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1984 - Honoring Kelly Alexander, Sr.

August 18, 1984  - Kelly Alexander, Sr. is honored by Governor Jim Hunt and the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Since 1948, Alexander has been a tireless advocate for the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the U.S. Constitution, called civil rights. He serves as president of North Carolina's state NAACP chapter, which has brought more desegregation lawsuits than any other

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1985 - Traffic Congestion

Charlotte-Mecklenburg's explosive growth is creating many challenges. Commuters traveling to and from work jam area roads. Highways can't handle the traffic in and out of the county. After many discussions and studies, $225 million is set aside, or allocated, to built a circular highway through the areas that surround the city. It will take more than 20 years to complete the Outerbelt.

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1985 - Stopping the Presses

November 1, 1985 - Once the largest afternoon daily newspaper in the Carolinas, the Charlotte News ceases publication today. The last issue marks the end of a 97-year presence in the Queen City. Front page of the last Charlotte News

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1986 - African American Cultural Center opens

March 15, 1986 - The Afro-American Cultural Center opens. It is located in the old Little Rock AME Zion Church on the edge of the First Ward neighborhood. The center sponsors theater, art and exhibitions that celebrate the African American history of Charlotte. 

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1986 - Shalom Park

May 18, 1986 - Shalom Park, the new center of Charlotte's Jewish community, is dedicated. The city has two Jewish houses of worship: Temple Israel and Temple Beth El. Since one follows beliefs that are more traditional and the other is more modern, the congregations must decide if they want to join together and move to the park. Although both will relocate and build new facilities at Shalom Park, the congregations will choose to remain separate. 

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1987 - Down becomes up

February 14, 1987 - No longer will the Charlotte Observer refer in print to the center city as downtown. From now on, the largest daily newspaper in the Carolinas will use the term uptown as a way to help civic leaders promote the upbeat, positive attitude of the Queen City. 

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1987 - Habitat for Humanity

In July, President Jimmy Carter arrives in Charlotte. He and his team of volunteers are determined. They plan to construct 14 houses in five days for Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds affordable housing for low-income families around the world. The work is back-breaking, but when it is done, the Optimist Park neighborhood has an entire block of new homes. The attention the project draws to Charlotte inspires donors to contribute $1.5 million to build more houses.Jimmy Carter works on Habitat

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