Home » Michigan » Charlotte

James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Charlotte

Michigan

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Unions, Organized Labor?

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Probable
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Don’t Know
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910 4886 15
1920
1930
1940 5544 6
1950 6608 8
1960 7675 7
1970 8244 4
1980 8251 20
1990
2000 8389 79 46 29
2010 9074 106 37 43
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Unknown

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

“With respect to Charlotte, MI one of the street names right by my house was Mikesell (sp?), which I was told
is the name of a grandmaster wizard or whatever they call officials in the KKK from Charlotte.
I do not know if there are actual ordinances on the books about race, but lore in the town was that the
sun had never set over a black person in Charlotte (although there was an adopted black child in town).
This was confirmed by the black community in Lansing that Charlotte was not a place to visit or to be after
dark. When Lansing basketball teams played at Charlotte high school in the mid 80s people in the stands made posters that said ‘Go home spooks’ and no one said anything. The only minorities in the
community were 3 Asian American families, two Hispanic American families and one Jewish family. At one time a Vietnamese family tried to settle in Charlotte but I think they were encouraged to leave
(they were there less than one year). I don’t know that people even were aware that the Hispanic family weren’t white they had fair skin and spoke English
fluently. I didn’t realize they were ‘different’ until I was in high school and realized they had Spanish last
names. The Asian families said they had been subject to harassment but not violence.”