1976 - Johnson C. Smith Professor Rev. DeGrandval Burke writes The Brooklyn Story.

1976 - Reverend Burke documents urban renewal.

• Johnson C. Smith professor Rev. DeGrandval Burke writes The Brooklyn Story. This book documents the history of Brooklyn, the former black Second Ward neighborhood. 
• During the 1960s, Brooklyn had become, in the press and in the public eye, no more than a slum. Rev. Burke brings the fuller story of a vibrant religious and cultural life to the public attention.
• Later, Vermelle Ely and the Second Ward High School alumni will organize exhibits of all the black neighborhoods of Charlotte. Across the nation, African Americans are beginning to tell their own story.