CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation will host the final community listening session for its reimagining of Latta Place on Thursday.
The county is working with Design Minds, an interpretive planning consulting firm, to reimagine the Latta site and visitor experience. The new format of the site would include structures, history, community ties, and programming.
The public is invited to give feedback to ensure all perspectives are heard in the process of reimagining and revisiting operations for the site.
In June of 2021, Mecklenburg County closed the Latta site and opted not to renew its contract with Historic Latta, Inc., an organization that had operated the site since the 1970s.
Controversy erupted in 2021 when a Juneteenth event at the former plantation was planned to have confederate soldier reenactments. That event was canceled after social media backlash.
County officials then chose not to renew a contract with the site's directors, leaving leaders and community leaders pondering what to do with the location.
Recommendations presented to county leaders would have Latta Place turned into either a research space, a site for reflection on the legacy of slavery, or a place for living history demonstrations.
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