In May of 2021, the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room was honored to receive a request from two members of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners to do historical research. They sought to identify, acknowledge, and address the harm done by systemic racism in the decisions of County government. They asked for historical background to make clear the origins and depth of the problem. The Carolina Room took on the task and produced a report. It chronicles the lost potential, communal division, and long-term harm that is the story of racism everywhere. It also features some brave voices raised against it. It does not attempt to tell the whole history of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Such was not our mandate. It does, however, tell a different side of that story, one that emphasizes struggle and problems more than growth and consensus.