Petition of Charles W. Leeper, et. al. to City of Charlotte et. al.

Petition of Charles W. Leeper, et. al. to City of Charlotte et. al.

golf
segregation
racism

Petition filed by black Charlotteans in response to the segregation of the public Bonnie Brae Golf Course. It was filed with the Charlotte Park and Recreation Committee in 1951 as a prerequisite action before filing suit. The land for the course had a restriction upon usage as specified by the deed and conditions for the land's donation, stating the title would revert back to the original owner if the property was allowed to be used by blacks. As noted in a letter from Charlotte lawyer Joseph W. Grier, who donated the original petition to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1975, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the reverter. The United States Supreme Court denied centiorari, or a review of the lower court's decision for reversible legal errors, thereby upholding the state court's ruling. The situation was resolved when the city Park Commission purchased the reverter from the original grantor, Mrs. Osmond Barringer.

Joseph W. Grier Papers, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Library

Charlotte, N.C.: J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections

2012-01-26

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1951

Charlotte (N.C.)
Mecklenburg County (N.C.)