The Legacy of the Morgan School

Saving the Cherry Neighborhood’s Jewel the Morgan School

By John Burton, Jr.

The Cherry community, considered to be one of Charlotte’s oldest neighborhoods, celebrates 130 years of history, heritage and community this year. Developed in 1891 on a portion of John and Mary Myers’ cotton plantation, it was established as a separate town outside of Charlotte's city limits. Poised as a place to bolster homeownership among the Black working class, the community blossomed, increasing Black homeownership by almost 40 percent from 1905 to 1925.

Photo By Rened McCoy

By the 1950s, Cherry had become a flourishing neighborhood near the Center City, especially with the addition of the Independence Expressway and Charlottetown Mall. Over the years, Cherry’s Black population has dwindled from 66 percent in 1990, 55 percent in 2000, to only 37 percent by 2015. Sadly, most of its original homes and landmarks have evaporated largely due to urban renewal and gentrification.

Thankfully one of the community’s vital fixtures, the Morgan School still remains. The historic 10-classroom building, constructed in 1925, serves as an architectural and institutional focal point for Cherry. Built to serve Black elementary-aged children, the Morgan School’s presence nurtured the entire Cherry community.

Some of the Morgan School alumni include Dr. Vann Stitt, a medical doctor and hospital administrator, former AFL football player Richard “Dickey” Westmoreland and The Jeffersons sitcom actress Berlinda Tolbert. “I didn’t come from affluence, I came from working-class people from Cherry,” said Tolbert, who attended the Morgan School until the sixth grade. “I am proof that Cherry and Morgan School can make a difference.”

Since 2017, when it last functioned as a charter school, the legendary two-story school has been vacant. The future of the almost 100-year-old building has been greatly debated. For more than 30 years, The Cherry Community Organization (CCO) has sought to regain control of the building not only because of its historical value but equally its cultural significance. The non-profit, consisting mainly of longtime Cherry residents, seeks to reclaim the school to develop it into a multi-faceted learning resource center.

They believe the Cherry community is capable of “dreaming a dream and actualizing a vision” for The Morgan School. The CCO has launched the “Reclaim Morgan School” campaign coupled with a petition soliciting community support. Their agenda seeks to implement a longterm plan to make Morgan viable for the community through programming, self-sufficiency and sustainability. The plan includes getting Morgan designated as a historical landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.

Currently, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has ownership of the building but is looking to sell the property. Morgan School advocates believe the building going to anyone besides the community would foster an ongoing narrative of being told what will happen within their community. The advocates don't want Cherry to experience a similar fate as Brooklyn, Second Ward and so many other Black communities across the nation where Black history has disappeared. The sentiment of many in Cherry is that Morgan School was built by Cherry and belongs to Cherry. “You simply cannot sit back and watch your history and your people vanish,” Tolbert said. “This is one of our opportunities to hold onto that African-American history that is important to this city.”

Erasing history, mainly Charlotte’s Black history, should never be an option. Many of what were memory markers for Black Charlotte have simply vanished on the coattails of change. Moreover, the use of public funds should never be used to dispossess and dismantle Black communities any longer. First Brooklyn then Second Ward. Will Cherry be next?

Outside the Morgan School today, a weather-beaten metal plate is still affixed. Ironically, these words are embossed, “School maintained in this community for the benefit of its citizens.” P

Above: The front of the Morgan School Right: Best known for her role as Jenny Willis Jefferson on the television series, The Jeffersons, Berlinda Tolbert was a Cherry resident and attended the Morgan School.

Photo courtesy of Berlinda Tolbert