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History Timeline

1960 - Woolworth's Sit-In

February 1, 1960  - Four black college students refuse to leave Woolworth's whites only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, until they are served. Charlotte's Franklin McCain is one of the young men who takes part in this sit-in. These sit-ins becomes a frequent way to protest unfair segregation laws. Sit-in at Durham

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1945 - FDR dies

April 13, 1945 - Just three months into his fourth term, America's longest-serving president has died. The funeral train carrying the body of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passes through Charlotte as it travels from Warm Springs, Georgia to Washington, D.C. White and black church choirs sing as thousands of mourners pay their respects at the Southern Railway Station.

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1956 - Early integration

January 5, 1956 - Federal law desegregates interstate buses, meaning it will be illegal for these buses to have separate sections for black and white riders. But the law only applies to buses that travel between states. Buses that run within one state can still be segregated. Even in Charlotte, there are separate waiting rooms for white people and black people, called colored. Desegregation of buses and trains

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1963 - JFK Assassinated

November 22, 1963 - Bullets hit the car carrying John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas and kill America's 35th president. Only 46 years old, Kennedy had been a World War II Navy hero and a U.S. senator. He fought to eliminate schools separating students according to their race, called segregation. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, is captured by police and killed the next day by Jack Ruby. But nothing can ease the nation's grief. 

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1945 - Germany Surrenders

May 7, 1945 - Less than a year after the invasion of Normandy, France, called D-Day, Germany surrenders. Throughout Europe and the U.S., people celebrate. But the war is not over. Japan has not surrendered and fighting continues in Asia. The U.S. government has limited, or rationed, the amount of household goods families can buy. Every bit of America's resources go to help the war effort.Ration Books

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1956 - Expansion

August 27, 1956 - Independence Boulevard opens, replacing unpaved sections of Stonewall Street. As the massive roadway links the east and west sides of Charlotte, it cuts through Second Ward, home of many of the city's black families. It won't be long before the entire Second Ward neighborhood is torn down.

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1975 - Arthur Smith

February 6, 1975  - Bluegrass musician Arthur Smith has long been a favorite performer on Charlotte's live WBT radio shows. Today, Smith wins almost $200,000 from Warner Brothers. The record company had used Smith's music as part of the song Dueling Banjos in the movie Deliverance, without obtaining permission or giving credit for the work. Arthur Smith with his son, Reggie, c. 1958

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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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