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African American Album Volume 2

York Road High School

York Road High School was completed in 1956, the last all-black school constructed. The school was never actually located on York Road, but it was given this name so that people could find it. It began as a junior high, but added grades until it became a senior high in 1959. In 1969, York Road High School became Robert F. Kennedy Jr. High as part of the city’s integration plan. In 1968, Kennedy Junior High moved to a new campus and the old York Road School building became part of the Maria G. Davis Middle School complex.

West Charlotte High School

West Charlotte High School opened in 1938 at 1415 Beatties Ford Road, where Northwest Junior High is now located. When it opened, 389 students were enrolled. Fourteen faculty members taught under the leadership of Principal Clinton L. Blake. The school housed grades 7-12. By 1950, enrollment had rocketed to 1100. In 1954, West Charlotte moved to a new building at 2219 Senior Drive.

More photographs of West Charlotte

The class of 1941 and Mr. Blake in his office

1969 - Elmwood/Pinewwod Fence Removed

The fence dividing Elmwood Cemetery is taken down. The fence dividing Elmwood Cemetery into separate black and white sections is taken down. The only black city council member, Fred Alexander, leads the fight to bring down the fence that separates black and white people even in death. Four times, he brought the motion to a vote and four times it was defeated, 4 to 3. Finally, when an opposing council member misses a meeting, Alexander brings it up and the vote is tied. Mayor Stan Brookshire casts the vote to pass the measure.

Date of Event:
January 7, 1969

1968 - Swann Case Reopened

1968 - Swann Case is reopened.

Date of Event:
1968

1968 - Jackie Harrison Graduates from Harding High

1968 - Jackie Harrison graduates from predominantly white Harding High School.

Date of Event:
1968

1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated

April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray. Marchers demonstrate in downtown Charlotte after King's death.

Date of Event:
April 4, 1968

1968 - Johnson C. Smith protest the deaths of three students

Johnson C. Smith students protest the deaths of three students. Johnson C. Smith students burn an effigy of South Carolina's governor to protest the deaths of three students in Orangeburg, SC.

Date of Event:
February 16, 1968

1967 - Thurgood Marshall appointed to Supreme Court

August 30, 1967 - Marshall is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • August 30, 1967 - Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American appointed to the US Supreme Court. 
  • As an NAACP civil rights attorney, his victory in the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education had begun the desegregation of public schools.
  • In this photo, Marshall speaks in Charlotte and meets with local NAACP leaders, including Kelly Alexander, the students who were the 1957 desegregation pioneers in Charlotte, and their families.
Date of Event:
08/31/1967