Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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History Timeline

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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1975 - President Ford in Charlotte

May 20, 1975 - President Gerald Ford draws a crowd estimated near 100,000 when he speaks at Charlotte's Freedom Park. He has come to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Long a topic of controversy, some believe the Meck Dec never existed. Others swear their ancestors witnessed or signed the document that proclaimed freedom from Britain in 1775. Ford Greets Crowd of Thousands at Freedom Park

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1941 - U. S. Joins War

December 8, 1941- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Congress agree: The U.S. must declare war on Japan. Two days later, we will declare war on Germany and Italy as well. The U.S. has entered World War II. For nearly four years, its effects will be felt in every community across the country. More than 20,000 men and women from Mecklenburg County will serve in the U.S. military during the war. 

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1971 - Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg

April 20, 1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court votes unanimously to uphold Judge McMillan's decision in the Swann case. Busing can be used to achieve racial balance in schools. But victory is not yet won. Tensions will get worse as fighting, bomb scares, and riots break out at Charlotte-Mecklenburg's schools.

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1965 - Attack on Justice

January 25, 1965 - A dynamite blast destroys the car that belongs to Julius Chambers. Luckily, he is not hurt. Chambers is the attorney who recently filed legal action against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board on behalf of the Swann family. He will be the target of violence again.

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1942 - Evac Hospital

The 38th Evacuation Hospital, made up of Charlotte doctors and nurses, gives medical aid to the troops fighting in North Africa and Italy. After the war, Charlotte will remember her veterans by collecting donations and memorials. The money will fund the building of Freedom Park in 1948.Freedom Park

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1960 - King Richard

February 28, 1960 - On a half-mile dirt track at the Charlotte Fairgrounds, 22-year-old Richard Petty wins his first race. He will go on to become the winningest driver in the history of stock car racing, known as NASCAR. 

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1975 - Case Closed

July 11, 1975  - It has been seven long years since Julius Chambers first filed the legal case, Swann vs. the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. Integration has worked for one year. Judge James B. McMillan is confident it will continue to do so and gives control of the schools back to the board. The judge who had endured threats against his life officially closes the case. The city that made integration work has earned another place in America's history books.

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1956 - New Libraries

November 19, 1956 - The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County boasts a new, modern facility on the North Tryon Street site of the old Carnegie Library. The expansion also includes branch libraries for the Mecklenburg towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Matthews and Pineville. While many buildings restrict by segregation where black people can go, Charlotte's library quietly accommodates black patrons. In 1961, the Brevard Street library that has served the black community since 1905 will close. Soon, laws will prohibit segregation. 

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