CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte's original high school for Black students may soon see new life more than 50 years after it was demolished.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is looking to rebuild Second Ward High School with a medical and technology focus at the same location where it once stood before being torn down in 1970.
The school opened in 1923 as the only high school for black students in Charlotte, surrounded by resources supporting the black community in a neighborhood called Brooklyn.
"Second Ward was the life of the community," Mecklenburg County Commissioner At-Large Arthur Griffin, a former student, said. "This was black Ballantyne, in terms of having all the resources you can imagine. ... Your dentists were here. Your doctors were here. This is where you would go.”
The Second Ward gymnasium in Uptown, now a county recreation center, is all that's left of the school, after it was torn down and the Brooklyn neighborhood was razed in Charlotte's first wave of urban renewal, displacing thousands of Black Charlotteans.
"I graduated in 1969, the last class," Cecelia Johnston said. "All of a sudden we going to school and they tearing down the school while we’re going and they promised us they were going to build another one, but, as you know, it hasn’t ever happened.”
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Her hope may soon become reality after voters approved CMS' $2.5 billion bond referendum. More than $176 million from that bond is expected to go toward a new Second Ward Medical and Technology High School with the goal of offering more academic options, alleviating overcrowding, and fulfilling a promise.
"As we look to the future, it’s so many opportunities that this will provide as we talk about our youth having jobs in the medical field, STEM and biology field," CMS School Board At-Large Member Lenora Shipp said. "Kind of was a promise we’ve made and we’ve talked about for years and I’m glad we’re going to be able to make it happen with this bond funding.”
Though in the early stages, CMS Facilities Management Director Dennis LaCaria said the new magnet school will be built next to the existing gym and is expected to accommodate around 2,000 students.
We are absolutely committed to this project," LaCaria said. "Multistory, something that is reflective of the area directly around it. And really, hopefully some very exciting architecture too.”
For Griffin, and many other graduates, who still gather to keep the history of the school and community alive, as part of the alumni foundation, the chance to see Second Ward High recreated would be a dream realized.
“Thrilling for that to happen," Griffin said.
“At least we’ll have something with the Second Ward name and, hopefully, it’ll happen," Johnston said. "It’s been a long time coming.”
A timeline for the project is expected to be announced next Tuesday, Feb. 13 at the CMS board meeting.
Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.