Southern Historical Association

The session will be followed by a reception hosted by the Charlotte Local Arrangements Committee at the Levine Museum of the New South, whose exhibits will be open to SHA members and their guests throughout the reception. In addition to Levine Museum, sponsors of this reception include UNC-Charlotte, Davidson College, Johnson C. Smith University, Queens University of Charlotte, Wingate University, and Winthrop University.

Levine Museum is located at the corner of North College St. and East 7th St. To walk exit the front door of the Westin, turn right on College and proceed for seven blocks. The museum will be on the right at 7th St. There is also a light rail that links the hotel to the museum. Called LYNX, the platform is located outside the 2nd floor rear exit of the Westin. It runs every twenty minutes, and costs $3 for a round-trip ticket. The final stop is the 7th St. station, a half block from the museum entrance.

SHA President William J. Cooper will deliver his presidential address, "The Critical Signpost on the Journey Toward Secession." The presentation of all awards and tributes will precede President Cooper's address, and will be presided over by former SHA president Leon Litwack. A reception honoring President Cooper will follow his address in Providence III. It is hosted by the Department of History, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Office of the Chancellor, all of Louisiana State University; and by publishers of Cooper's work: Alfred A. Knopf; LSU Press; Rowman & Littlefield; and the University of South Carolina Press.

This acclaimed documentary film by critic-filmmaker Godfrey Cheshire uses the physical relocation of his family's ancestral plantation home in Wake County, North Carolina as a means of exploring the iconic role southern plantations have long played in American culture. Along with NYU professor of Africana Studies, Robert Hinton, a descendant of slaves who worked at Midway, Cheshire explores the multiple legacies embodied in this physical structure, and how his own views of family and race were altered in the course of documenting this move. The film is 94 minutes long, and both Cheshire and Hinton will be on hand to discuss it afterwards. Visit for background on the film and filmmakers.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame opened in May of this year (just across the street from the Westin). In commemoration of that event, and to encourage interested members to visit the Hall of Fame, two historians who have written about auto racing in the South, Pete Daniel and Dan Pierce, the author of NASCAR, White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France(2009) will be joined by Hall of Fame curator Buz McKim, and two former executives of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Humpy Wheeler and Doug Stafford, to discuss the historical and regional significance of NASCAR, and its special relationship to Charlotte.

Thursday, November 4, 4:00-5:30 P.M.
Saturday, November 6, Noon-1:15 P.M.

Explore the history and architecture of the nation's second largest banking center. This 75 minute walking tour along Tryon Street, Charlotte's equivalent of Wall Street, will be led by Tom Hanchett, the director of Levine Museum of the New South. It will depart from the Stonewall Street entrance of the Westin at 4:00 P.M. on Thursday and again at noon on Saturday. Maximum 25 people, reservations suggested: phone Levine Museum at (704) 333 -1887, ext. 228. $10 fee.

The Hezekiah Alexander Homesite, built in 1774, is the oldest surviving house in Mecklenburg County.Tour the site and museum and spend time with Living History re-enactors of the Revolutionary War in the Carolina backcountry by exploring the way soldiers and families lived, worked, and fought.

A bus to the site will depart from the front entrance of the Westin at 11:45 A.M. A $20 fee will cover a boxed lunch, the cost of transportation, and admission. Reservations are required and can be made through the SHA conference registration form. Limit 45 people.

The City of Charlotte has a rich and vibrant African American past that is often overlooked by visitors. Learn more about Second Ward, Settler's Cemetery, the Biddleville Community and more on a fully narrated African American Heritage Tour of Charlotte.

The bus will depart from the front entrance of the Westin at 12:00 and return before 1:30. A $25 fee will cover a boxed lunch, the cost of transportation, and an experienced tour guide. Reservations are required and can be made through the SHA conference registration form. Limit 24 people.

The Local Arrangements Committee will operate a courtesy desk during the convention to provide a list and descriptions of restaurants within walking or easy driving distance of the Marriott and Hyatt Hotels.