4 quotes from Charlotte's 4 Black mayors
Charlotte's four Black mayors — some of the city's most prominent living history makers — united for a rare discussion this week at the Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum in the Belmont neighborhood.
During the conversation, they reflected on their upbringings, legacies and the challenges Charlotte faces today. You can watch the full discussion here.
Here are some takeaways from the mayors' remarks:
Vi Lyles: Red Line is "great opportunity"
2017 — Present
"If we get the ability to charge that 1-cent sales tax, I promise you this city will change, and it will change for people of color more than anything else."
Why it matters: The Red Line could define the sitting mayor's legacy. The proposed commuter train, connecting Uptown to north Mecklenburg, is decades in the making. The project is finally gaining momentum under Lyles' tenure, and possibly starting construction as soon as 2026.
Mayor Lyles spoke of how important it is for the city to create a reliable transportation system that moves people to and from work. Mobility is one of the best ways a city can promote economic mobility.
Go deeper: Everything to know about the Red Line
Patrick Cannon: Bring the CIAA back
2013 — 2014 (Cannon was arrested in March 2014 after he was elected for public corruption.)
"What sense does it make for us to let something go that's on average bringing in $47 million a year to our city? Creating opportunity for many people that look like us, right? We need to continue to go back, I think, sometimes on some things — not all things — but in order to go forward. And I think we have the leadership here to be able to do that because I believe it's about time for that thing to be up in Baltimore, Maryland. It needs to come back to the city of Charlotte."
Why it matters: The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's is a historically Black athletic conference that includes Johnson C. Smith University. Charlotte hosted the CIAA's basketball tournament from 2006 to 2020. In 2021, Baltimore outbid the city for the tournament, which was once Charlotte's largest annual event.
Some suggested the city let the tournament slip away and took it for granted. Bringing it back could be a major boost for Uptown's revitalization and a win for the Black community. The CIAA tournament is described as a celebration of Black excellence and HBCU pride.
Baltimore is slated to host the tournament through 2026.
Mayor Lyles says that council member Malcolm Graham reminds her daily, "We're going to get the CIAA."
Anthony Foxx: Still "bullish" on the Gold Line
2009 — 2013
Foxx was the U.S. Secretary of Transportation from 2013 to 2017 under President Obama.
"I'm still very bullish on [the Gold Line]. It has a different challenge than the South corridor line did. The South corridor was built along more or less abandoned industrial sites. The street car's being built in a highly (residential) area. So, the development of it is going to have to be much more careful, and it's got to be done with the community. But we're starting to see the Beatties Ford Road corridor become more of a corridor of opportunity."
Why it matters: The Gold Line, once dubbed the"biggest political football" of Foxx's tenure, faced strong opposition and remains controversial today. Critics argue it fails to move people effectively, and often gets stuck amid traffic.
Still, CATS is pushing forward with a six-mile expansion, including an additional two miles along Beatties Ford Road. It expects to continue gaining ridership by looking at options like signal priority.
Go deeper: Why CATS is moving forward with the $845M Gold Line streetcar extension
Harvey Gantt: "We have close to a thousand Black millionaires in Charlotte ... Are they visible to you?"
1983 — 1987
"We should have gotten to the point where the city is not the major instrument by which we see economic improvement in our people ... I see [the city government] doing the same thing we were trying to do ... 37 years ago. That's not progress to me."
Why it matters: Charlotte's first Black mayor expressed disappointment in the community's partnership toward promoting upward mobility. He says the economy needs the full force of private sector involvement from wealthy Black leaders who build businesses and can join resources.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
Will Trump invoke the Insurrection Act? 'We'll see,' he says
Will Trump invoke the Insurrection Act? 'We'll see,' he says Show Caption Hide Caption Anti-ICE raid demonstrators protest into fourth night Anti-immigration raid protests are continuing into the fourth night as the Pentagon deployed active-duty U.S. Marines. President Donald Trump mulled invoking the Insurrection Act, which would give him more leeway to use the military for domestic purposes, as he deploys troops to Los Angeles in response to protests prompted by ICE raids in the region. "If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it,' Trump said June 10 during an event in the White House. 'We'll see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible." Trump deployed the California National Guard to Los Angeles over the objection of Gov. Gavin Newsom, sparking a lawsuit from the state. Marines were also sent to help the guard after protests erupted over his immigration enforcement efforts. The troops are limited to protecting federal property and law enforcement officers. The Insurrection Act would give Trump authority to use them more broadly. More: 'High-stakes game': Trump-Newsom clash pits two political heavyweights Trump said there were parts of Los Angeles on June 9 where "you could have called it an insurrection. It was terrible." Newsom described Trump's actions as "the acts of a dictator" and accused the president of 'inciting and provoking violence,' 'creating mass chaos,' and 'militarizing cities.' Legal experts say invoking the Insurrection Act is an extreme step. It has been done 30 times in U.S. history. "The invocation of it would be viewed as a pretty dramatic act," said Duke Law Professor H. Jefferson Powell. Powell said the law is "dangerously broad." The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was in May 1992, by President George H.W. Bush at the request of California's governor, to quell rioting in Los Angeles after four White police officers were acquitted for beating Black motorist Rodney King.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LA protests far different from '92 Rodney King riots
The images of cars set ablaze, protesters tossing rocks at police and officers firing nonlethal rounds and tear gas at protesters hearkens back to the last time a president sent the National Guard to respond to violence on Los Angeles streets. But the unrest during several days of protests over immigration enforcement is far different in scale from the 1992 riots that followed the acquittal of white police officers who were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King. President George H.W. Bush used the Insurrection Act to call in the National Guard after requests from Mayor Tom Bradley and Gov. Pete Wilson. After the current protests began Friday over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 4,100 National Guard troops and 700 Marines despite strident opposition from Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump cited a legal provision to mobilize federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday saying Trump had overstepped his authority. Outrage over the verdicts on April 29, 1992 led to nearly a week of widespread violence that was one of the deadliest riots in American history. Hundreds of businesses were looted. Entire blocks of homes and stores were torched. More than 60 people died in shootings and other violence, mostly in South Los Angeles, an area with a heavily Black population at the time. Unlike the 1992 riots, protests have mainly been peaceful and been confined to a roughly five-block stretch of downtown LA, a tiny patch in the sprawling city of nearly 4 million people. No one has died. There's been vandalism and some cars set on fire but no homes or buildings have burned. At least 50 people have been arrested for everything from failing to follow orders to leave to looting, assault on a police officer and attempted murder for tossing a Molotov cocktail. Several officers have had minor injuries and protesters and some journalists have been struck by some of the more than 600 rubber bullets and other 'less-lethal' munitions fired by police. The 1992 uprising took many by surprise, including the Los Angeles Police Department, but the King verdict was a catalyst for racial tensions that had been building in the city for years. In addition to frustration with their treatment by police, some directed their anger at Korean merchants who owned many of the local stores. Black residents felt the owners treated them more like shoplifters than shoppers. As looting and fires spread toward Koreatown, some merchants protected their stores with shotguns and rifles.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Obituary: Milwaukee Courier founder Jerrel Jones, pioneer in local journalism, dies at 85
Milwaukee journalism pioneer and visionary, Jerrel Jones, 85, founder of the weekly newspaper, the Milwaukee Courier and owner of WNOV radio station, has died according to a statement from the family. 'He was a mentor, a pioneer, and a beacon of strength,' Mary Ellen Jones, daughter and general manager of WNOV, said in a statement. Jones led Courier Communications Corp., which included the newspaper for 61 years. The Courier was founded in 1964 during the Civil Rights movement and desegregation in Milwaukee's schools. In 1972, Courier Communications bought WNOV, with Jones as the majority stakeholder, making it the first Black owned radio station in Wisconsin and one of 30 in the United States, according to the station's website. In 2013, Courier Communications bought the Madison Times, a Black newspaper in Madison. In a statement Mayor Cavalier Johnson said: "Milwaukee has lost a titan of local media with the passing of Jerrel W. Jones. His leadership of both the Milwaukee Courier newspaper and WNOV radio provided important outlets for news, entertainment and information. Jerrel was an engaged owner and community leader. His family, friends and colleagues have my condolences." A special tribute edition of the Milwaukee Courier is planned for the end of July and community members are invited to share a reflection of Jones. The Courier is the oldest continuously publishing Black newspaper in Wisconsin and has been a force in politics, culture and community since its first edition. Jones gave it the slogan "the newspaper you can trust" and it was a key source of information and commentary for Milwaukee's Black community. And Jones held politicians to account, even those whose campaigns he helped support financially. One of those was Democratic state Sen. Gary George, who represented part of the northside of Milwaukee at the time. In 2003, Jones supported then-Gov. Jim Doyle's efforts to expand casino gambling in the state that would have benefited Potawatomi Casino, and one of the major advertisers for the Courier and major employer in the Black community. However George voted against it. Jones was furious after the vote and the Courier wrote an editorial lambasting George saying he "has had the opportunity to represent his loyal supporters for a long time. It is time that he must go. His actions, votes and leadership are clearly in question." Jones went even further, launching a recall against George in March that year. "I backed Gary for 20 years. I've taken a lot of crap from Gary over those 20 years," Jones said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2003. "I've never even heard of a recall effort where we recall our own. this is the first time and, hopefully, the last time." Jones led the recall effort gathering 15,000 signatures, nearly more than double what was needed to launch a recall and a month before the deadline, according to a Journal Sentinel story. Roughly seven months later George lost his recall election to Spencer Coggs. This story will be updated. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Obituary: Jerrel Jones founded Milwaukee Courier founder, owned WNOV
