Carver College (Charlotte, NC)
Carver College (later known as Mecklenburg College) was a junior college that served African American students in Charlotte, North Carolina. The college operated as the black counterpart to Charlotte College (now the University of North Carolina at Charlotte) from 1949 to 1963. After merging with the Central Industrial Education Center, the school became Central Piedmont Community College. History 1940-1960 Carver College emerged from the demands for higher education among World War II veterans in the 1940s. As soldiers returned stateside, they sought to take advantage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill). Across the United States, newly established college centers met growing educational demands. These centers allowed veterans to gain skills and transferable credit for four-year universities. In North Carolina, the Extension Division of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumed responsibility for the college centers. The Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina (later Charlotte College) operated out of the all-white Central High School. Second Ward High School, the first public high school for African Americans in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, hosted an extension school for African American students. The Charlotte School Board gained administrative power over Charlotte College after the passage of Chapter 786