Carolina Theatre to host album release celebration for Black Charlotte: A Poetic Celebration of Place & Folk
The live performance and community celebration is designed as a “love letter to Charlotte.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte’s poet laureate has a love letter for Charlotte. And not all of it is easy to hear.
Jay Ward, who co-executive produced Black Charlotte: A Poetic Celebration of Place & Folk along with Jah Smalls, brings the album to the newly restored Carolina Theatre on April 11 at 8 p.m. for a release party and first live performance. The album, Ward said, is a heartfelt dedication to everything Charlotte has been and desires to be – the good and, yes, the bad.
“We have our banks and breweries, yes, but hear the stories of the people and neighborhoods whose impact can still be seen today beyond a changing skyline. It’s more important than ever to ensure future generations understand the contributions of Dorothy Counts, Ella Scarborough, Edith Strickland DeLane and others,” Ward said. “It’s vital today’s residents understand how Cherry, Beatties Ford and Earle Village are the bricks that built Charlotte’s foundation. We’re celebrating Charlotte, from the railroad workers to the original residents of Brooklyn to Vi Lyles, to highlight Black Charlotte as the backbone of Charlotte itself.”
The choice of venue is notable, as the Carolina Theatre prohibited Black guests from entering for decades during the Jim Crow era. When Black guests were finally allowed inside the Carolina Theatre in the early 1960s, they were relegated to the Balcony and only if they made reservations. Fortunately, these racist policies were abolished after only a few weeks and theatre officials began rightfully admitting all patrons on the same basis.
However, as white families began to flee Uptown Charlotte for the suburbs – a phenomenon called white flight – the Carolina Theatre, lost many of its patrons and closed in 1978. “It’s important we acknowledge this history. To shy away from this is to once again deny the dignity that was for so long denied to many would-be patrons of the Carolina Theatre,” Sean Seifert, the Carolina Theatre’s executive director, said. “While this theatre retains much of its history, we’re glad to return as a much different theatre in many ways – especially this one.”
During an exclusive Sneak Peek event at the Carolina Theatre on March 18, Ward and Boris “Bluz” Rogers performed an original poem (written by Rogers) titled Curtain Up! that delved into all aspects of the Carolina Theatre’s history, including its decades of segregation and demise.
That made Ward and Rogers the first to perform on the Carolina Theatre’s stage since it closedin 1978. “From the very beginning, we wanted our audiences to know segregation was a shameful part of our history, that we’re not ignoring it and we’re a different theatre – one that proudly and enthusiastically supports Black artists,” Douglas Young, the Carolina Theatre’s programming director, said.
A joint collaboration of Charlotte SHOUT!, The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African- American Arts + Culture and the Carolina Theatre, Black Charlotte: A Poetic Celebration of Place & Folk features 15 Charlotte-based poets reflecting on pivotal moments in Charlotte’s history, ultimately creating a love letter to the city we share.
Audiences can purchase tickets for Black Charlotte: A Poetic Celebration of Place & Folk on April 11 at 8 p.m. at TheCarolina.com.
About the Carolina Theatre at Belk Place
Originally opened in 1927, the Carolina Theatre in Uptown Charlotte reopened in 2025 after nearly 50 years of vacancy. Lovingly restored to its original glory by Foundation For The Carolinas, the Carolina Theatre serves as a dynamic civic and entertainment hub in one of America’s fastest-growing cities. Visit TheCarolina.com to learn more.
Media contact: Jared Misner, communications director, 980-502-5876 or jared@thecarolina.com