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BHM
2026 Notables by QCT | Post #10
Law, Legacy & Liberation:
Builders of Black Progress ⚖️🎨🏛️🗞️
Two trailblazers whose brilliance shaped both the legal and artistic landscapes of Black Charlotte and beyond:
🔹 John
T. Sanders
(c. 1860–after 1936)
John
T. Sanders became Charlotte’s first practicing Black attorney in
1906, breaking racial barriers in a deeply segregated legal system.
Largely self-taught, he was soon known as the “Colored
Financier”
for his astonishing business empire: multiple drugstores, a hotel, a
restaurant, a movie theater, a newspaper (Charlotte
Advertiser),
and real estate holdings that fueled the rise of neighborhoods like
Washington
Heights.
A civic force, he co-founded the Cedar
Grove Cemetery
and championed the long-sought Colored
YMCA
in the 1930s. Today, Sanders Avenue near Johnson
C. Smith University
preserves his pioneering legacy in law, business, and uplift.
🔹 Dr.
Selma Hortense Burke
(1900–1995)
Mooresville-born
Selma Burke carved her place in American memory through sculpture and
service. Her 1940s bas-relief of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt—completed
from life—was widely believed to inspire the U.S. dime design but
credit was given to John Sinnock; the U.S. engraver.
Founder of the Selma
Burke Art Center
in Pittsburgh, she elevated generations of Black artists and
challenged exclusion in the arts. In 1980, she unveiled her
monumental bronze statue of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
in Charlotte’s Marshall
Park,
fusing artistic genius with civil-rights legacy.
🎉 Honor
their legacy during the
👉🏾 28th
Annual QCT Charlotte Pilgrimage Toursm
– February 2026
🎟️ Tickets & info:
charlottepilgrimagetour.com
#BHM2026 #BlackCharlotte #JohnTSanders #SelmaBurke #CharlotteHistory #CivilRightsLegacy #WashingtonHeightsCLT #BlackSculptor #ColoredFinancier #QCTHeritage #BlackExcellence #HistoricCharlotte #CharlotteTours
📚 Sources:
https://meckdec.org/publications/DandelionNov-Dec04.pdf
https://www.amistadresearchcenter.org/artist/selma-burke
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/selma-burke
https://www.ncpedia.org/burke-selma-hortense
https://www.blackartistforward.com/post/selma-burke-s-flowers
https://newstoriesoldtowns.com/2016/09/29/dr-selma-burke/
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