Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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African American Album Volume 2

1964 - Hawkins protests at the YMCA

May 13, 1964 - Charlotte minister and dentist Reginald Hawkins starts a protest at the YMCA, which excludes blacks from its membership. After protests and lawsuits, the YMCA board changes its policy.

Date of Event:
May 13, 1964

1963 - Separate Campuses for UNC Charlotte and Carver College

1963 - Separate campuses are built for UNC Charlotte and Carver College.

Date of Event:
1963

1963 - Martin Luther King Speaks to Charlotte's Black High School Students

May 30, 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks at a convocation of the area's black high schools.

Date of Event:
1963-05-30

1963 - Charlotte hotels and restaurants begin to desegregate

May 1963 - Charlotte hotels and restaurants begin to desegregate.

Date of Event:
May, 1963

1963 - Harvey Gantt Desegregates Clemson

January 16, 1963 - Harvey Gantt desegregates Clemson College. January 16, 1963

Date of Event:
January 16, 1963

1962 - Hawkins Pickets Memorial Hospital

March 1962 - Hawkins pickets Memorial Hospital.

  • In response to his earlier protests, the hospital had opened 20 beds for African Americans.
  • Dr. Hawkins states that this step is not enough to desegregate the hospital.
  • One year later, under legal pressure and threats of intervention by Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the hospital would fully desegregate.
  • Photo shows Dr. Reginald Hawkins leaving the courthouse.
Date of Event:
March, 1962

1962 - M & F Bank Opens

March 1, 1962 - M & F Bank, NC's first black run bank, opens a branch at 101 Beatties Ford Rd.

Date of Event:
March 1, 1962

1961 - Reginald Hawkins leads protest

Summer 1961 - Charlotte minister and dentist Reginald Hawkins leads protest.

Date of Event:
1961

1960 - The Demolition of Second Ward Begins

1960 - The demolition of Second Ward begins.

  • With money from the US Government, the Charlotte Redevelopment Authority begins to destroy Second Ward, the centrally-located black neighborhood of Brooklyn.
  • The city later builds new government buildings and a park on the site.
  • Most of the 1,000 black families relocate to traditionally black neighborhoods or to white working-class neighborhoods which would quickly become black.
Date of Event:
1960