Stirring the Ashes: Can We Live With the Discomfort of Talking Openly About Slavery?
Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick and H. D. "De" Kirkpatrick met at Myers Park High School in the 1960s. Just last year they learned that the ancestor of one had owned the ancestor of the other as a slave. What followed was a remarkable conversation. On August 9, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library will host a program with these two men. They’ll talk about their history and ours. And how to have a conversation about -- and grow from -- a discussion of slavery. "In 1850, 40% of Mecklenburg County's population were enslaved people,” notes the Kirpatricks. “Let's talk about this." The program