Black History Month in Charlotte

This Saturday at 2 p.m. in the auditorium at the main library, filmmaker Steve Crump presents his film "9-4-57." Here is how the PLCMC sums up the event:

"In September 1957, a 15-year-old African-American girl named Dorothy Counts was admitted to the all-white Harry Harding High School, in Charlotte, N.C. After a week of harassment that threatened her safety, her parents withdrew her from the school. This film documents the historic, incendiary events of that week and its aftermath. Meet the award-winning WTVI/WBTV filmmaker Steve Crump with an introduction by Levine Museum staff historian, Dr. Tom Hanchett."

Click here for information about the event.

I am increasingly interested in the history of race relations in Charlotte. Coming from a small, overwhelmingly white suburb in Connecticut, I have no experience with these issues. In fact, I have lived here for over ten years and I think it is still possible to know little-to-nothing about Charlotte's history unless you actively seek it out. I have become a big fan of Tom Hanchett at the Levine Museum of the New South, who works tirelessly to bring attention to the hidden pockets of Charlotte in a nonconfrontational, nonjudgmental way. I strongly encourage you to attend one of his lectures--on anything! He'll be leading walking tours in May--keep checking the Levine Museum website for details.

Dr. Hanchett also wrote a great book, called "Sorting Out the New South City: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975" that is well worth a read. You can find it in the Levine Museum gift shop. And don't miss the tour he leads with the Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education (MeckEd), "History, Geography and CMS." If you, too, are from "away" and don't know the history, this is well worth your time.

Finally, I encourage you to check out QCityMetro.com, which is an online news source dedicated to "news, opinion and other information relevant to Charlotte's thriving African-American community." Even if you aren't African-American, there are some interesting articles and viewpoints that you won't see elsewhere.

To do: Visit the Levine Museum of the New South (and check out the new exhibit, "Changing Places: from Black and White to Technicolor"). Learn about Charlotte's history. Visit a new-to-you neighborhood.