Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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African American Album Volume 2

Charlotte's All-Black Schools

CHARLOTTE - MECKLENBURG 
ALL-BLACK SCHOOLS 1852 - 1968

In 1957, four brave African American students crossed the color barrier to integrate Charlotte's city school system. These students chose to be reassigned from their all-black schools to all-white schools in order to get a better education. Their actions were the beginnings of a great change.

At that time, Mecklenburg County essentially had four school systems: 

1967 - Demolition of First Ward Begins

1967 - The Charlotte Redevelopment Authority begins the demolition of First Ward. Some residents move to traditionally black neighborhoods. Others move into Earle Village Homes, a new public housing facility built on the land that was cleared. Photo shows North McDowell Street in First Ward before demolition. 

Date of Event:
1967

1966 - Martin Luther King at Johnson C. Smith University

1966 - King brings the civil rights movement to the North and opposes the War in Vietnam. This is a time of change for the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., takes the movement north and encounters resistance. In Chicago on August 5, 1966, protesters throw stones at him.

Date of Event:
September 21, 1966

New AME Zion Publishing House Is Dedicated

June 6, 1966 - The new AME Zion Publishing House is dedicated.

  • It replaces the old building built in 1911 at Second and Brevard streets. It is one of the few businesses to survive urban renewal.
  • Although the church was founded in New York City, the publishing house had moved to Charlotte in 1894
Date of Event:
June 6, 1966

1965 - Fred Alexander is elected to the Charlotte City Council

May 4, 1965 - Fred Alexander is elected to the Charlotte City Council. Photo shows Alexander being sworn in on the 10th.

Date of Event:
May 1965

1965 - Christmas with Anita Stroud

December 1965 - Christmas with Anita Stroud.

  • Abandoned and unloved as a child, Charlotte resident Anita Stroud spends her life caring for the children of Fairview Homes, the housing project where she lives.
  • Miss Anita picking Christmas presents for “her children.”
Date of Event:
December, 1965

1965 - Bombing of Civil Rights Leaders' Homes

November 22, 1965 - The homes of four local civil rights leaders are bombed in Charlotte.

  • Bombs shatter the homes of Julius Chambers, Kelly Alexander, Fred Alexander, and Reginald Hawkins.
  • The attack is only one of several attorney Julius Chambers and his family would survive.
  • One bomb explodes in the bedroom of Alexander's eight-year-old son. Miraculously, no one is physically injured in the blasts.
  • No one is charged in the bombings.
Date of Event:
November 22, 1965

1965 - Friendship Baptist Church Is Demolished

April 18, 1965 - Friendship Baptist Church in Second Ward is demolished.

  • After holding church services in the Northwest Junior High auditorium for seven years, the congregation finally raises enough money to rebuild the church on Beatties Ford Rd. 
  • Of the 12 churches in Brooklyn, only one survives urban renewal. 
Date of Event:
April 18, 1975

1965 - Dynamite Destroys Julius Chambers' Car

January 24, 1965 - Dynamite destroys the car of Julius Chambers, a black NAACP lawyer, while he speaks at a civil rights rally at a church in New Bern. Three Ku Klux Klansmen are arrested and receive suspended sentences.

Date of Event:

1965 - Swann Case Is Opened

January 19, 1965 - The Swann Case is opened.

Date of Event:
January 19, 1965