IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — During Black History Month, education and celebration are two main themes. Some take the chance to dive into history to learn more about long-lost memories that are all too often passed down through history by stories.
The town of Mooresville dug up its history and is preparing the debut of a documentary entitled "Black Mooresville: The Untold Story" on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. inside the Charles Mack Citizen Center in Mooresville.
Black history looked much different 150 years ago.
In many communities, the only remnants of a time like that are passed down through first-hand accounts, some of which you will never find in books.
Author Sharnetta Clark-Gordon voiced the documentary, collaborating with the town of Mooresville, NAACP, and the public library. The town is celebrating 150 years of being incorporated while understanding its past.
"To know your history is to know your greatness," Clark-Gordon explained to WCNC Charlotte.
The documentary pulls together moments in history as remembered by residents who lived them. It also highlights the often-lost history of a bustling Black economy of businesses and start-ups in the early 1900s.
The history and lived experiences are paired together, reaching all the way back to March 3, 1873.
The group is working to preserve this online for future generations to come and will be doing so in the next few months.
Marian Lytle, the director of the Mooresville Public Library spoke to WCNC Charlotte about what it meant to the town and the transformation.
"This documentary and interviews show how we went from segregation to desegregation," Lytle told WCNC Charlotte. "The individual and collective community story that came from that is what you will see."
Contact Colin Mayfield at cmayfield@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.