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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library Gets First Historian-In-Residence

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library is getting its first-ever historian-in-residence. 

 

Tom Hanchett, a community historian in Charlotte, started the one-year residency Monday, according to the library system. Hanchett was staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South for 16 years, and he’s written extensively on urban history and Southern culture. 

 

At the library, Hanchett will serve as a community coordinator for programs at the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room and other events. 

 

“We envision that through his writing, teaching and storytelling, he’ll help many Charlotte residents discover and enjoy the historical and genealogical gems the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room has to offer,” Jeni Gaisbauer, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library chief community officer said in a statement. 

 

[SouthBound: Historian Tom Hanchett On The Past, Present (And Future?) Of The South]

 

At the Levine Museum, Hanchett curated the permanent exhibition “Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers” and several temporary exhibitions, including one called “COURAGE” about the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education.

 

Hanchett’s writings include a book on Charlotte’s neighborhoods. 

 

Hanchett’s first presentation, “Food From Home,” will take place at 6 p.m. July 11 at the Mint Hill Library. His second event, “Sorting Out Charlotte,” will be at 6:30 p.m. July 23 at Myers Park Library. Both events are free and open to the public. 

 

More information can be found through cmilibrary.org/historian-in-residence or cmstory.org where videos, photos, blogs and articles of interest will be shared.