I'm back in California for the weekend after all but 2 days of the last 5 weeks in Charlotte, NC on a special job.
When I was back at Christmas time, I did a little research on the history of Charlotte to see what interesting places I could see while I was there. I started reading about a cemetery that I would drive by every day on my way to the office. The article said that there were plenty of famous Civil War combatants buried there with brief stories about the exploits of some of the more significant ones. Towards the end of the article, I discovered that there were 2 cemeteries that were right next to each other - both of which were founded just about the same time in the 1850s.
That seemed really strange - why have 2 large cemeteries right next to each other?
Then I discoved the reason - and I was shocked. The first cemetery wouldn't allow black people to be buried there. My initial reaction was WTF? I was raised in California in the 50s and 60s and was never exposed to these attitudes. Sure, some people that I knew growing up had subtle racist thoughts, but those thoughts rarely translated into action.
Fortunately, the current residents of the Charlotte, NC area are some of the nicest and fairest people I've ever met. They have embraced the history of both cemeteries equally - as it should be. Southern hospitality is real :)
The burning message here is Happy MLK weekend. It's not just about the man, but the ideals that he embraced - and ended up dying for. Honor the man and the message
P.S. My avatar might seem insensitive, but that's not my intention. My part-time job is to make fun of everything and everybody, regardless of their importance.
Just don't take my irreverence for a lack of respect...
