People travel to west Charlotte to say goodbye to historic school

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Many people stopped to take a moment to say goodbye to a historic school in west Charlotte on Saturday.

The old buildings that made up the original campus will be torn down soon, and a new West Charlotte High School is currently under construction nearby.

A construction beam is now sitting at the school for people to sign. It will be used as the new school is being built.

As people signed it, they reflected on all of the historic moments that occurred there.

“We were forced to help with desegregating, and it was unfamiliar and scary for all, but within just a couple of weeks on campus, we all bound together and worked together and we made something special and unique unlike anything else,” said Melody White, a member of the class of 1975.

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The beams will carry pieces of the past into the next chapter from a school whose hallways hold so much history.

“My best memory is when Dr. (Martin Luther) King (Jr.) handed me my high school diploma on my graduation day,” said Edward Kennedy. King attended the ceremony in 1963.

Alumni traveled from as far as Georgia to make sure they had a chance to sign the beam.

“We live in Atlanta now. We drove down yesterday, and they said today or tomorrow is going to be the last day to get it signed, so I made sure that I got here to sign my son’s name on the beam,” said Shawketta Harris, a west Charlotte graduate.

Now, those beams will support the next generation of students and the future of west Charlotte.

“It’s time for them to have it updated. They deserve the best stuff that’s around, so I’m glad that they’re doing that,” another graduate of the school said.