Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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African American Album Volume 2

1954 - Douglas Municipal Airport Opens

Douglas Municipal Airport opens: July 10, 1954.

At the new Douglas Municipal Airport, Pastors Calhoun, Wertz, Hawkins, Givens, Martin Luther King, Jr., Kelly Alexander, Sr., Pastors Kerry, Humphrey, Shipman, and an unknown person are departing for the National Baptist Convention.

Date of Event:
1954

1954 - President Eisenhower Visits Charlotte

Ike visits Charlotte: May 18, 1954

  1. President Dwight D. Eisenhower visits Charlotte.
  2. A crowd gathers to see the president.  
  3. President Eisenhower addresses Charlotte's residents.
Date of Event:
May 18, 1954

1954 - Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board: May 17, 1954.

Date of Event:
May 17, 1954

1951 - Floyd McKissick Enters UNC Law School

Floyd McKissick enters UNC Law School:

  • In 1951 UNC Chapel Hill admits its first black students. Floyd McKissick, an Asheville native, enrolls as the only black student in the Law School.
  • Later McKissick becomes one of the South's leading civil-rights workers and leader of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality.
  • In the 1970s, McKissick is instrumental in the founding of Soul City, a federally financed "new community" in Warren County.
Date of Event:
1951

1950s - National Events

The war has ended but unrest at home is just beginning. Visit this decade marked by the entrance of rock 'n roll and desegregation. Read about the infamous US Supreme Court Case, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education, which outlaws school segregation by race. Watch and listen to Dorothy Counts' emotional experiences at Harding High School.

June 25, 1950 - The Korean War starts.

October 15, 1951 - I Love Lucy premieres on CBS.

May 17, 1954 - US Supreme Court outlaws school segregation.

Date of Event:

1950 - African American Graduate Students Study Out of State

NC pays tuition for African Americans to attend universities.

  • Many Charlotte teachers, including Coach Jack Martin of West Charlotte, go to northern universities to get graduate degrees.
  • Their tuition is paid by North Carolina because the state doesn't want African Americans to attend its all-white colleges.
  • Photo shows Jack Martin working in his brother's restaurant in New York while attending New York University graduate classes.
Date of Event:
1950

1950 - Hotel Alexander

Hotel Alexander:

  • Late 40s, on McDowell St in Charlotte.
  • Only hotel for blacks between Washington and Atlanta.
Date of Event:
1950

1950 - Arthur Grier Builds Grier Heights

Arthur Grier builds Grier Heights:

  • In the 1940s and 1950s, Charlotte businessman and funeral home owner Arthur Grier becomes a developer and builds more than 100 homes off Monroe Road.
  • This part of Charlotte is called Grier Heights. 
  • Photo shows Arthur Grier, right, at the Excelsior Club
Date of Event:
1950

1949 - Carver College Opens

Carver College opens: 1949

Date of Event:
1949

1949 - WBTV signs on

WBTV signs on: July 15, 1949.

  • A crowd of 5,000 arrives at the Armory auditorium to watch WBTV sign on the air at 7 p.m. 
  • Many of the television station's performers come from radio station WBT. WBT is heard throughout the East and gives black musicians a larger audience than they have ever reached before. 
  • The Golden Bell Quintet were frequent broadcast performers.
Date of Event:
July 15, 1949