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HISTORY 1974. The United States was assessing its wounds from the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement. We were in the midst of the Vietnam War; bell bottomed jeans were the fashion of choice, and the Feminist Movement was just coming into full swing. “Blacksploitation” movies were a box-office phenomenon with “Superfly,” “Foxy Brown,” and “Coffey,” while television shows with Black casts began to emerge as the flavor of the decade. “Sanford and Son,” was in its second year, “Good Times,” began its first - a second series spin-off of one of the most controversial sitcoms on TV, the racially-laced "All in the Family."
Dr. Harper began to examine her community. There was a rising interest in the city toward historical preservation. However, urban renewal projects were beginning in Charlotte and many people in the black community, Dr. Harper charges “felt urban renewal was synonymous with ‘black removal.” Churches, homes, and businesses in the predominately black communities of Brooklyn and First Ward were being torn down or moved. Although there was “talk” in the community about preserving history, Dr. Harper watched sections of the black community being dismantled and destroyed, and the question arose in her mind, “whose history did the community want to preserve?" Dr. Harper’s concern proved that there weren’t many, if any, organizational efforts to preserve African-American history from Washington, D.C. to Georgia, at the time. So, she decided that Charlotte should form an African-American cultural center and it became the focus of her doctoral project, a proposal she titled, Vistas Unlimited: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Afro-American Cultural and Service Center.
Dr. Harper met with Dr. Roddey to discuss her ideas about the cultural center. Dr. Roddey agreed to supervise the project because she saw the cultural center as a way to involve the larger community and the students at the Black Studies Center. As they began to organize the goals and ideas that would make the cultural center unique, they found that there were many important contributions from black people, particularly in North Carolina, that people were unaware of. They wanted this proposed center to become a place where African-Americans could learn about their heritage, but also bring awareness to the contributions of other minority groups, as well. Together, they formed what would become the first mission for the center. Still, additional support for Dr. Harper’s project was needed. They met with the late Fred Alexander, a well-respected and influential political leader in Charlotte, who thought the concept for the center was necessary and important. Soon other influential leaders learned of the project including Harry Golden, a Jewish writer, Dr. William S. Mathis, Dean of Humanities at UNCC, Dr. William M. Britt, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, and Mamie L. Brewington, a respected community leader who eventually became the first chairperson of the Afro-American Cultural and Service Center (AACSC) initiative.
Phyllis Lynch, owner/operator of the Multicultural Center, offered temporary space to the center and many meetings began to take place there. However, a more permanent site was needed. Harry Golden offered his house on Hawthorne Lane, but it proved not a feasible location given the proposed activities for the center. Subsequently, Mr. Golden willed his house to the Black Studies program at UNCC.
In the meantime, one of the Board members, Clara Lowery Williams, came up with the idea to have an outdoor festival to raise money for the center. The idea was encouraged and supported by the Board. Led by Mrs. Williams, the activities committee of the Board coordinated the festival with the theme, “Black Culture is…” It was held in Marshall Park on August 31, 1974 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. to mark the opening of the center. It included art exhibits, dance groups, various forms of music, poetry readings, a night performance of a play, and even had people witness an African wedding. There were arts & crafts, and informational booths serviced by various organizations giving facts about hypertension, sickle cell anemia, the NAACP, and UNCF. The festival was well-received by the community and although the Center held another festival in Marshall Park in 1975, by 1998, the AACC no longer held its own festival. Today the Center’s presence as The Multicultural Marketplace is a strong part of Festival in the Park, a community-wide initiative that is held in the Fall and coordinated by a group of the same name.
Riding high on the success of the festival in the park, with another planned the following year, the AACSC applied to seek space at Spirit Square. Spirit Square opened its doors in 1976, and in 1977, the now Afro-American Cultural Center moved into a 600 square foot office there under the care of a new chairman, Dr. Herman Thomas. |
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While
our country was undergoing its change, in Charlotte, North Carolina (UNCC),
a young, Black assistant professor of English at the University, Mary
Harper, was also seeking personal advancement. Mrs. Harper (now Dr. Harper)
was pursuing her doctoral degree through the Union Graduate School. One of
the requirements of her course, she states “was to develop a project
demonstrating excellence in which some societal change could be assured.”
At
this time, an associate at the University, Bertha Maxwell Roddey, (now Dr.
Roddey) was directing the Black Studies center (which is now a degreed
program at UNCC) where an emphasis was on students giving back to the
community. 
Supporters
began meeting at locations around the city, including the home of Mr.
Golden, the former Multicultural Center and the Excelsior Club, a place
where a rich history of change was exchanged within the black community of
Charlotte. An initial organizational meeting was held on May 22, 1974 at the
University of North Carolina where task groups were formed to begin
exploring sites for the center, sources of funding, and organizational
policies of the advisory board. UNC-Charlotte was committed to the concept
of the center and wanted to help to seek funds. The group, however,
concluded that, while the idea for the center grew out of a doctoral report
associated with UNCC, and they were using resources connected with its black
studies program, the Center needed to evolve out of the community and not
controlled by UNCC or any other organization. 
Dr.
Britt had expressed an interest in acquiring the Reformed Presbyterian
Church (now Tryon Center for the Visual Arts) located at 11th and
N. Tryon Street for the center. The group agreed that that would be a most
ideal location because it offered the space and accessibility to all
sections of the community. The cost of the church was quoted as $239,000,
and there was a possibility of leasing the building. In a subsequent
meeting, however, the Board learned that the cost of the building was
actually $250,000 ($11,000 more than anticipated) and an additional $100,000
would be needed to repair and convert the sanctuary so that it could serve
as a cultural center. They, of course, did not have the money. Dr. Britt
wanted to seek the funds through a foundation from UNCC, but staying true to
their original agreement, they did not want to be obligated to the
University. They remained confident that the center would realize funding on
its own. 
After
the festival of 1974, the community began to respond to the goals of the
Center. People began to bring items from their homes that they felt had
historical relevance to the black community so that the Center’s organizers
could begin to develop a collection. But the fact remained, that there was
no room to house the materials, and they were well short of the amount of
money they needed to obtain a site. Many of the organizers stood on the
streets with cups trying to raise funds including the founders, Dr. Harper
and Dr. Roddey. Although it was a noble statement of the commitment of the
center supporters, it still did not provide them the amount of money they
needed. 
