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African American Album Volume 2

1948 - Kelly Alexander, Sr., President of North Carolina NAACP

Kelly Alexander, Sr. becomes head of NC NAACP: 1948.

  • He will hold this position until 1984. 
  • Alexander believes that no racial progress will occur until the courts are used to seek racial justice. 
  • Under his leadership, this state chapter petitions more school boards and brings forth more school desegregation lawsuits during the 1950s than any chapter in the United States.
Date of Event:
1948

1948 - Desegregation of the Armed Services

Desegregation of Armed Forces: July 26, 1948.

  • President Truman bans segregation and provides for equality of opportunity in the armed forces.
  • This photo shows one of the last all-black groups in the armed services.
  • Charlotte's John Southerland appears in this group of graduates from the US Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Maryland on May 24, 1945.
Date of Event:
July 26, 1948

1947 - Allegra Westbrooks Comes to Charlotte

Allegra Westbrooks comes to head the Negro Library Services for the Public Library. She becomes well-known as a career woman within the broader Charlotte professional community.

Date of Event:
1947

1947 - First Queen City Classic

  • The Queen City Classic football game becomes an annual contest between the two black high schools, Second Ward and West Charlotte.
  • Held each year at Charlotte's Memorial Stadium, the game raises money to benefit the athletic programs at the schools. The last game will be held in 1968, one year before Second Ward High School is closed.
  • Vermelle Diamond is crowned the first Miss Queen City Classic in 1948. She is flanked by J.E. Grigsby, principal of Second Ward and C.L. Blake, principal of West Charlotte.
Date of Event:
1947

1947 - McCrorey Retires from JCSU

Date of Event:
1947

1947 - Jackie Robinson

  • Charlotte's Charles Younge, holding the bat, stands beside Dodger Jackie Robinson and Charlotte Observer carriers. 
  • Jackie Robinson plays second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Before that time, blacks could only play in separate Negro leagues. 
  • The carriers had won a trip to New York by signing up new subscribers.
Date of Event:
April 15, 1947

1947 - Negro Officers Get Full Status

Negro officers get “full status” in Police Dept: 1947. 

  • Charlotte's first "full status" black police officers on the steps of the Charlotte Police Department. 
  • From left to right, front row: Roy Booton, Vardry Spencer, George T. Nash, Jr., and James Taylor. Back row: John Lyles, James Ross, A.M. Houston, and John Hoffman.
Date of Event:
1947

1946 - Charles Parks plays in the Negro Baseball league

Charlotte's Charles Parks plays with the Newark Eagles in the Negro Baseball League. 

Date of Event:
1946

1945 - Medical Auxiliary Banquet

1945 - Medical Auxilary Banquet honors doctors.

  • By law, Charlotte's city hospitals could only serve whites. From 1881 the Good Samaritan Hospital served the African American community. It was the first hospital in North Carolina built for blacks. Both white and black physicians admitted patients. 
  • Good Samaritan Hospital. By law, black doctors can only practice at all-black hospitals such as Good Samaritan Hospital.
Date of Event: