‘The Ford?’ ‘The West Side?’ What do residents in the Beatties Ford Road corridor say?
Some call the area “The Ford.” Others say it’s the “West Side” or the “Historic West End.”
The answers vary on what could be a single name identifying communities clustered along Beatties Ford Road, a main thoroughfare north of Charlotte’s uptown.
One gentleman who overheard my recent conversation on the topic at the Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library chimed in to say that the real Beatties Ford Road communities, populated by a majority of Black families, stretch from Johnson C. Smith University northward to Sunset Road. But he didn’t give it a name.
Beginning Monday and for the next six to eight weeks, The Charlotte Observer will have a rotation of journalists working each day in the area, covering its geographic, cultural and historical significance in Charlotte. The Allegra Westbrooks branch (colloquially known as the Beatties Ford Library) is our home base.
In addition to covering how the community defines itself, we plan to report on other issues residents say are missing from the news cycle. It will take some digging, but we have a team of reporters, lead by DJ Simmons, who covers race and inequity, ready to fan out.
This past Friday, I got a jump start and spent a couple hours with Winston Robinson, with the Historic West End Neighborhood Association, cruising through the area “to capture that authentic Beatties Ford feeling,” he said.
Robinson, 41, grew up in Wilmore, but now lives in McCrorey Heights, a neighborhood situated about Beatties Ford Road, with a new historic places designation in Charlotte. Robinson was eager show why the community is special in his heart — and why it should be special to all of Charlotte.
“Charlotte lacks reverence for its history, even more so for Black people,” he said.
Thinking of his two sons, he knows there is a bountiful history right here to share with them.
“These stories are very important. I want this ... to be celebrated in Blackness because of a thriving culture, legacy and history, not because of a proximity to poverty,” Robinson said. “I want (people) to move to that community, because of its resilience and pride, its legacy, not because it’s affordable.”
On the name discussion, Robinson says in Charlotte, Beatties Ford Road is a euphemism for Black and the West Side also is a euphemism for Black. They are the same. After Brooklyn was demolished during urban renewal, Beatties Ford Road became the center of Black activity.
“Black people have always been on West Boulevard. But the more affluent Black people came here,” he said. “Although there’s much you can consider geographically, if we’re on the West Side, there’s like an underlying understanding that you mean Beatties Ford Road.”
We met at Archive Coffee, which could be considered an important first stop within the community. Owned by Cherise Terry, the bookshop and coffeehouse has fast become a hub for neighbors. As previously reported by The Observer, it showcases “Black ephemera from the 1930s to now.”
People of all persuasions flock in for the staple beverage, to see the shop’s vintage tributes and the conversation. That day, I ran into Ken Koontz, who tells me he was the first African American reporter at WBTV, as he headed inside for the latest 411 there.
Onward with my tour, McCrorey Heights was founded by Dr. H. M. McCrorey, who was the second Black president of Johnson C. Smith University, Robinson said. He acquired the land in 1912. The city did not support McCrorey’s efforts, nor at the time, give him access to water and sewer for the community.
“In a pre-integration world, he wanted to have a space where high earning, highly educated black people can just kind of come and call a place home,” Robinson said. “It by default became a think tank, because all of these people were brilliant and smart and capable of doing things for the city, and literally making history.”
The neighborhood drew the talented and the trailblazing. Among those, Reginald Hawkins, the civil right activist, and Elizabeth Garland Schmoke Randolph. She was an African American educator who “led the effort that made kindergarten part of all (Charlotte-Mecklenburg) CMS elementary schools,” according to the Foundation for the Carolinas’ website.
Robinson also took me pass the now razed home of Mayor Vi Lyles, in McCrorey Heights, which The Observer previously reported on in February.
As we chatted, Robinson peppered our conversation with some coverage ideas, such as the Beatties Ford Hardware Store, a longtime mainstay in the community — and owned by an African American woman.
Other Beatties Ford Road communities Robinson drove me through were Washington Heights, Hyde Park — that has mansion-type homes — Seversville, Oaklawn, Northwood Estates/University Park and Lincoln Heights.
Each has a distinctive identity or historic sites, such as The Excelsior Club and the United House of Prayer.
Heading north toward Sunset Road, we passed Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. We drove pass the Deltas of Charlotte Foundation, the headquarters of the storied Black sorority’s local chapter. Also on this strip is the Kappa Hall, a hub for the historic Black Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
And Beatties Ford Road is where Magnolia Senior Apartments is located. A dozen seniors have been displaced from their homes since Christmas, after a pipe burst, causing flooding and water damage to several units. In the days since, all have had their lives disrupted, some have lost their leases and are living in hotels or elsewhere.
Driving into the apartment parking lot on Friday, I observed several sitting outside the building. They appeared fatigued, waiting amid boxes with personal items, clothes, a teddy bear and other knickknacks. We’ll continue to cover this protracted saga.
Another organization Robinson would love to see more coverage about is For the Struggle, the nucleus of many nonprofits addressing inequity. Previously, The Observer wrote about aspects of this group and we’ll continue to follow them.
Another issue, similar to many well-know Black neighborhoods around Charlotte, is gentrification. Spurred by growth in Charlotte it seems inevitable. Finding that balance between preserving the identity of older neighborhoods, building anew and not putting people out seems never ending. The Observer recently reported on Black commercial real estate developers, some of whom already are working in Beatties Ford Road area.
But is there such a thing to too much growth?
Not really, says Mecklenburg County Commissioner Arthur Griffin. It’s all in how one approaches it.
“Growth is better than no growth. We have to move away from neighborhoods to communities,” Griffin told The Observer last month while we chatted at Archive. “Neighborhoods (are) the physical space; communities (are) the interpersonal space. The interpersonal space is where that solution comes.
“The new people moving in ... become a part of the community,” he added. “It’s not (that) they’re taking over the community, but they become a part of that existence.”
More questions abound. Development, preservation, identity, challenges and opportunities are just a few of the topics we’ll delve into, and we’re eager to hear your ideas for stories that are impacting the area.
This story was originally published April 3, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
