Fifty years ago, a Charlotte Civil Rights activist led a march through Charlotte to call for desegregation in the city. That march triggered an "eat-in" at Charlotte restaurants with African American leaders, led by then Mayor Stan Brookshire. That action in Charlotte helped set the stage for the nation's 1964 Civil Rights Act. Fifty years after that action, we'll gather with historians as well as people who were there to talk about those historic events, how Charlotte has progressed since, and where we still need to go to fully achieve desegregation in Charlotte, when Charlotte Talks.
Guests
Jack Claiborne - Former Charlotte Observer reporter who covered Civil Rights in the 1960's and author of Discovering North Carolina: A Tarheel Reader.
Maria Hanlin - Executive Director of Mecklenburg Ministries
Reginald Hawkins Abdullah Salim, Jr. - Son of Reginald Hawkins Jr. He walked alongside his father as a teen in 1963. He was the first black youth to integrate the Charlotte YMCA
Willie Ratchford - Executive Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee
- There are a number of events commemorating and celebrating the anniversary. Details about the events.