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1993 - Catawba Nation

November, 1993 - President Bill Clinton signs legislation that expands the Catawba Indian reservation to 4,200 acres. The tribe that lived so closely with Charlotte's early settlers more than 200 years ago must now promise to drop its legal actions against private individuals who own disputed property. The Catawbas will receive $50 million in cash, and the right to purchase available land to expand their reservation.

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1992 - Magnet Schools

 March 31, 1992 - It's been more than 20 years since court-ordered busing integrated the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. Now, the school board votes unanimously in favor of magnet schools, which will create special programs to attract students from different neighborhoods, races and economic backgrounds. Magnet schools offer added resources that help make integration voluntary. The school board votes to create magnet schools.

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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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1994 - USAir 1016 Crash

July 2, 1994 - As the busy July 4th weekend begins, travelers in Columbia, South Carolina, board US Air flight 1016. On the approach to Charlotte, something goes terribly wrong. The plane crashes in a residential neighborhood near the airport and 37 people are killed. An investigation will determine that unstable air, called wind shear, caused the DC-9 to crash.

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1992 - Night Racing

May 1992 - Light floods the Charlotte Motor Speedway and night racing begins. In the gripping race around the super-speedway track, the lead changes hands three times in the last lap. Driver Davey Allison is knocked unconscious, unaware until he wakes that he has won. Charlotte Speedway

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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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1990 - Changing Faces

The number of Asian residents in Charlotte has tripled in just the last 10 years. As the region's population becomes more diverse, the changes are reflected in the variety of ethnic stores, restaurants and shops that spring up.

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1992 - Death of a Pioneer

September 14, 1992 - Somebody had to be first, Gus Roberts said. Now, the man who was one of Charlotte's desegregation pioneers has died. In 1957, he was the first black student at all-white Central High. Of the four students who broke this color barrier, only Gus Roberts graduated from the school he risked his life to integrate.

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1977 - Government Changes

Since the 1950s, south Charlotte businessmen have dominated local politics. Now, neighborhood groups and others work for district representation. This new method of structuring the voting districts gives black citizens an opportunity to elect members of their own communities to public office.

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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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