Black History Month: History of Charlotte’s Black Wall Street

CHARLOTTE, NC — In Charlotte’s Second Ward lies an important piece of black history. 

“It was essentially a place where people could feel at home,” J.Murrey Atkins Library archivist Adreonna Bennett said. 

The Brooklyn neighborhood was established in the late 1860’s. 

At its height it was a thriving black business center and an African American city within a city known as Black Wall Street. 

“You also had schools, a library. so it really was just like a community hub, just really an area of black joy,” Bennett said. 

Photographs from the archives at J. Murrey Atkins Library showcase the character of the neighborhood which archivist Adrienne Bennett said had no socio-economic divide.

“So you had people who were farmers or maids and worked lower wage jobs, but you also had people who were doctors and lawyers, and they were living side by side.”

 Urban renewal led to the destruction of the neighborhood in the 1960s – the demolition displaced thousands of residents and destroyed more than 1,400 structures.

“Part of what urban renewal did was paint Brooklyn to be this blighted area. So it was basically deemed unsafe. So a majority of those homes, and honestly, the majority of the businesses in those neighborhoods were removed,” Bennett said 

Today only four buildings remain from the original neighborhood. 

Monique Stubbs, the executive director of the Brooklyn collective, said the non-profit uses them to preserve the history of the neighborhood. 

“It’s a way of commemorating it and making sure that the stories continue to be told,” Bennett said. 

Much of that work is done inside the Mecklenburg Investment Center which opened in 1922 as an incubator for small black businesses. 

With pictures of historic figures on the walls, it’s a visual representation of history and a bridge to the present as the building still serves as a hub for small businesses.

“We can think about creative ways to be able to continue to honor the history of this neighborhood while still promoting innovation,” Bennett said. 

With these pieces of the past connecting to the present, Bennett said there’s a way to preserve history and move forward. 

“I think that there’s a lot of lessons that can be learned from the past, but there’s also a lot of strength and empowerment that we can, that we can build from.”