The Levine Museum of the New South, is a history museum located in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...
whose exhibits focus on life in the
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. The museum includes temporary and permanent exhibits on a range of
Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
-related topics. Founded in 1991 as the Museum of the New South, it was renamed after museum patron and
Family Dollar
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. is an American variety store chain. With over 8,000 locations in all states except Alaska and Hawaii, it was the second largest retailer of its type in the United States until it was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015 and i ...
founder
Leon Levine
Leon Levine (born June 8, 1937) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He founded the Family Dollar chain of discount stores.
Early life
Leon Levine was born into a Jewish family on June 8, 1937, in Wadesboro, North Carolina. The family ...
in 2001, also the year the current facility at 7th and College Streets downtown opened.
[
]
Overview
The museum's permanent exhibit is called "Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers: Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont in the New South", and features period displays that reflect regional history. The displays include a one-room tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...
's house, a cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Although some were driven b ...
and mill house, an African-American hospital, an early Belk
Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, a ...
department store, and a civil-rights era lunch counter. Changing exhibits focus on local culture, art and history.
In March 2013, the Charlotte Museum of History announced plans to move its administrative offices to the Levine Museum.
In 2019, the museum had an exhibit "The Legacy of Lynching: Confronting Racial Terror in America", prepared in collaboration with the Equal Justice Initiative
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a non-profit organization, based in Montgomery, Alabama, that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and oth ...
, who created the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
Relocation was considered in 2020 because the site had no room for expansion and was worth $7.7 million according to county records. The COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
was one reason for considering more virtual options.John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts.
The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...
.Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
.
Gallery
Image:Eingangsschild des Levine Museum of the New South.jpg, Entrance of Levine Museum of the New South
Image:Eingang zu der Ausstellung "Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers".jpg, Entrance of "Cottonfields to Skyscrapers"
Image:Baumwollmaschine im Levine Museum of the New South.jpg, Cotton-Machine
Image:Modell einer Plantage.jpg, Model of plantation
Image:Willkommensschild für den Präsidenten Roosevelt.jpg, Welcome-Sign for President Roosevelt
Image:Erläuterungsschild der Ausstellung.jpg, Explanation-Sign
Image:Modell des Bank of America Corporate Center.jpg, Model of Bank of America Corporate Center
References
External links
Levine Museum of the New South – official site
Museums in Charlotte, North Carolina
History museums in North Carolina
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