Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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Turbulent Times 1960-1979

1975 - Restoring Fourth Ward

Civic leaders realize the importance of residential living in the center city. Charlotte banks, led by NCNB and First Union, offer low-interest loans to people willing to restore Fourth Ward's older homes and develop new housing in the old neighborhood. The area will become a showplace and will be recognized as the first of Charlotte's local historic districts.

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1960 - Woolworth's Sit-In

February 1, 1960  - Four black college students refuse to leave Woolworth's whites only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, until they are served. Charlotte's Franklin McCain is one of the young men who takes part in this sit-in. These sit-ins becomes a frequent way to protest unfair segregation laws. Sit-in at Durham

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1963 - JFK Assassinated

November 22, 1963 - Bullets hit the car carrying John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas and kill America's 35th president. Only 46 years old, Kennedy had been a World War II Navy hero and a U.S. senator. He fought to eliminate schools separating students according to their race, called segregation. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, is captured by police and killed the next day by Jack Ruby. But nothing can ease the nation's grief. 

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1975 - Arthur Smith

February 6, 1975  - Bluegrass musician Arthur Smith has long been a favorite performer on Charlotte's live WBT radio shows. Today, Smith wins almost $200,000 from Warner Brothers. The record company had used Smith's music as part of the song Dueling Banjos in the movie Deliverance, without obtaining permission or giving credit for the work. Arthur Smith with his son, Reggie, c. 1958

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1970 - City within a city

February 12, 1970  - Southpark opens on more than 100 acres of farmland southeast of downtown Charlotte. The new shopping mall greets 92,000 visitors its first day. Downtown stores will see a 25% drop in their sales the first year of Southpark's operation. The city's retail focus has begun to shift from away from its center city toward the suburbs. South Park Mall

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1965 - The Swann Case

January 19, 1965  - Darius and Vera Swann want their son, James, to attend school near the family's home. But since the Swanns are black, James is assigned to an all-black school farther away. Lawyer Julius Chambers files legal action against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The Swann case will have national impact: The nation must ultimately accept integration, which removes the boundaries that separate people according to race. Julius Chambers

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1970 - School Busing begins

September 9, 1970 - Busing has begun. Children are assigned to schools in an attempt to achieve integration, which removes barriers that separate people by race. Still, thousands of parents resist the changes and complain loudly to the school board. The board will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, and appeal Judge McMillan's decision to use busing to integrate the schools. The highest court in the nation will decide the Swann case. The outcome could affect every community in the country. Bus Ride to a New School

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1975 - President Ford in Charlotte

May 20, 1975 - President Gerald Ford draws a crowd estimated near 100,000 when he speaks at Charlotte's Freedom Park. He has come to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Long a topic of controversy, some believe the Meck Dec never existed. Others swear their ancestors witnessed or signed the document that proclaimed freedom from Britain in 1775. Ford Greets Crowd of Thousands at Freedom Park

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1971 - Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg

April 20, 1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court votes unanimously to uphold Judge McMillan's decision in the Swann case. Busing can be used to achieve racial balance in schools. But victory is not yet won. Tensions will get worse as fighting, bomb scares, and riots break out at Charlotte-Mecklenburg's schools.

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1965 - Attack on Justice

January 25, 1965 - A dynamite blast destroys the car that belongs to Julius Chambers. Luckily, he is not hurt. Chambers is the attorney who recently filed legal action against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board on behalf of the Swann family. He will be the target of violence again.

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