Alexander, Kelly M., Jr., 1948-

Desmarais, Melinda H.

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2001-05-01

1 audio file (1:11:28) : digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Kelly M. Alexander Jr. was a 53-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1948. He was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was employed as a funeral director and member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for Mecklenburg County.

Kelly Alexander Jr., the son of local, state, and national NAACP leader and local businessman Kelly M. Alexander, Sr. and Margaret Alexander, recounts his active involvement in civil rights in Charlotte, North Carolina and the larger community. He discusses his involvement with the NAACP, including serving as the president of the local chapter in 1986 and working with NAACP Youth Councils. Mr. Alexander describes how the bombing of his family's home and the homes of three other Charlotte civil rights leaders in 1965 (which happened when Mr. Alexander was a teenager) impacted the greater Charlotte community and helped shape the outcome of desegregation in the city. Other topics discussed include the Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Supreme Court case and school desegregation, political and community leadership, the role of the church in supporting local civil rights organizations, and the work of other civil rights activist groups operating in Charlotte such as the Black Panther Party.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on minidisc and reformatted using a Digidesign 003 rack.

Executives
Public officers

Alexander, Kelly M., Jr., 1948-
Alexander, Kelly M.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church (Charlotte, N.C.)

Political leadership
African Americans--Segregation
Segregation in education
School integration
Busing for school integration
Race relations
Education
Civil rights movements
Civil rights demonstrations
Cities and towns--Growth

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Brooklyn
North Carolina--Charlotte--Second Ward

Interviews
Oral histories

1940-2010

Civil rights and desegregation in Charlotte

Kelly M. Alexander, Jr. papers, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://findingaids.uncc.edu/repositories/4/resources/9)
Kelly Alexander oral history interview 2, 2007 April 2, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A1787); Margaret Alexander oral history interview 1, 2001 April 30, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A339); Margaret Alexander oral history interview 2, 2004 April 27, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Margaret Alexander oral history interview 3, 2007 April 2, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Alfred Alexander oral history interview, 2001 May 10, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A284)

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audio/mpeg

OH-AL0004