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History Timeline

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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1991 - Arts Alive

The Cultural Action Plan will help theater, dance, music and arts groups in Mecklenburg obtain funding. Part of the plan designates the Arts and Science Council as the agency that decides how much money each group will receive.The North Carolina Dance Theater

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1978 - Changing Customs

September 9, 1978  -A law allowing the sale of liquor by the drink passes in North Carolina. Before, only private clubs could sell liquor by the drink. Patrons who wanted an alcoholic beverage in restaurants would bring their own bottles, often in a paper bag. This was called brown-bagging. The new law helps the city's restaurants and convention business. Liquor Election

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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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1996 - Olympic Flame

June 24, 1996 - The summer Olympic games will soon begin in Atlanta, Georgia. A blazing torch symbolizes the spirit of the games. The Olympic flame is traveling through the South and today arrives in Charlotte. Men and women, young and old, of many races and abilities take turns carrying the torch. One man is Kater Cornwell, a veteran of the Vietnam War now confined to a wheelchair. who is not to be prevented from running.

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1945 - End of an Era

August 6, 1945  - The U.S. drops the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The city is virtually destroyed. Three days later, a second bomb falls on Nagasaki, Japan. On September 2, the Japanese officially surrender and the war is over. Three hundred thousand American lives have been lost. In the six years of war, more than 54 million have died worldwide. Six hundred men and women from Mecklenburg County have given their lives in the fight for freedom. World leaders vow that such a war will never be fought again.

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1970 - City within a city

February 12, 1970  - Southpark opens on more than 100 acres of farmland southeast of downtown Charlotte. The new shopping mall greets 92,000 visitors its first day. Downtown stores will see a 25% drop in their sales the first year of Southpark's operation. The city's retail focus has begun to shift from away from its center city toward the suburbs. South Park Mall

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1965 - The Swann Case

January 19, 1965  - Darius and Vera Swann want their son, James, to attend school near the family's home. But since the Swanns are black, James is assigned to an all-black school farther away. Lawyer Julius Chambers files legal action against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The Swann case will have national impact: The nation must ultimately accept integration, which removes the boundaries that separate people according to race. Julius Chambers

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1941 - Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 - As the sun rises over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Japanese war planes attack the U.S. Navy base. It is the first act of war against the U.S. The Japanese sink 19 ships. Over 2,400 American service personnel and civilians are killed. The nation, terrified, waits to see what will happen next

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1970 - School Busing begins

September 9, 1970 - Busing has begun. Children are assigned to schools in an attempt to achieve integration, which removes barriers that separate people by race. Still, thousands of parents resist the changes and complain loudly to the school board. The board will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, and appeal Judge McMillan's decision to use busing to integrate the schools. The highest court in the nation will decide the Swann case. The outcome could affect every community in the country. Bus Ride to a New School

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