Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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1957 - Children Lead

September 4, 1957  - Today, four brave, young black people will test the new laws against school segregation. As the nation watches, these desegregation pioneers arrive at four of Charlotte's all-white schools. The crowds who have gathered are angry. In the tense days that follow, people throw things at Dorothy Counts. They call Gus Roberts names. They shun Delois Huntley and Gus Roberts' little sister, Girvaud. Of the four, only Gus Roberts will stay long enough to graduate. 

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September 4, 1957

1949 - Television

July 15, 1949 - Charlotte's WBTV takes to the airwaves and becomes the first television station in the Carolinas. By 1967, there will be four other television stations: WSOC, WCCB, WTVI, and WCNC. 

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1974 - Citizens Pull Together

The school board has failed to devise an acceptable busing plan, but the Citizens' Advisory Group has their own ideas. These parents, educators and concerned citizens have met many times. They convince the skeptics that their strategy can work. Now, they present their plan to Judge McMillan. He accepts the plan.

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1959 - First Mall

October 28, 1959 - The first enclosed retail shopping center in the Carolinas opens. Charlottetown Mall will affect retail shopping patterns as it draws customers away from downtown. Although its name will change in later years to Midtown Square, the mall will operate continuously. 

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October 28, 1959

1941 - Fighter Pilots

April 21, 1941 - Morris Field is dedicated. New York City's Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia speaks at the ceremony. This facility which adjoins Charlotte's Douglas Airport, begins to train pilots and repairmen of the 29th Air Service Group as U.S. involvement in World War II approaches. Mecklenburg families extend hospitality to these servicemen, bringing them to church and home for meals. When the war is over, Morris Field is turned over to the city and made part of Charlotte's Douglas Airport. Morris Field Dedicated

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1950 - Korean Conflict

June 25, 1950 - At the end of World War II, Korea was divided in two. Now, Communist North Korea invades South Korea. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops help defend South Korea. Neither side will win the war. But after three years, a truce is declared although no peace treaty will be signed. Nearly 50 years later, U.S. troops will still patrol the border between North and South Korea.

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1962 - Lake Norman

March 4, 1962  - Water trickles into a lake bed that has been dug along the Catawba River. By the time the dam is completed at a river crossing called Cowan's Ford in May, Lake Norman will be on its way to becoming North Carolina's largest man-made lake. It has been designed to provide water power that helps generate electricity for Mecklenburg County. In the future, homes and recreational areas be developed along Lake Norman. 

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1949 - Rebuilding Lives

The veterans, men and women who fought in World War II, are returning home. To educate them, teacher Bonnie Cone pushes for new schools. Charlotte College is for whites, and holds classes at the old Central High School. Carver College is for blacks. Its classes are held at night at Second Ward High School. By 1963, Carver will become part of Central Piedmont Community College. Charlotte College will evolve into the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1965. The first registration of students for Carver College took place on September 16, 1949.

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September 16, 1949

1941 - Leisurely Sundays

June 4, 1941 - Many Southern cities still have rules, called blue laws, that prohibit certain activities on Sundays. When Charlotte's City Council repeals some of the blue laws, the Queen City joins the trend of most other Southern towns that now allow outdoor sports and movies on Sundays. 

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1954 - Changing Times

May 17, 1954 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules in a case called Brown vs. The Board of Education that segregating, or separating students and schools according to race is a violation of the U.S. Constitution. But it will take more than the court's ruling to achieve equality in our schools. Years of anger, frustration and violence will follow. 

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