Here’s what you need to know about Mangie McQueen.  He was the strong patriarch of our family.  He showed up for family at all times that mattered.  He attended every graduation.  Every school play.  Every dance recital.  Every school award ceremony.  Every game.  There he is in this update’s photos, standing up as his only grandson’s best man at his wedding in 1999.  At the time, Mangie McQueen was 95, still strong, still standing, still the backbone of his family.  His hard work as one of the most prolific black building contractors in Charlotte paid for his three daughters to go to college and graduate school.  He did not stop there because he made certain that every child in each generation that followed had the same opportunity.

And learn they did.

Mangie McQueen’s heirs hold degrees from A&T State, Davidson, Duke, Hampton, Harvard, Johnson C. Smith, North Carolina Central, Penn State, Shaw, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the University of N.C. at Charlotte and the University of N.C. at Greensboro.

The learning did not stop with Mangie McQueen’s death in 2003.  Younger generations are excelling today at Phillips Exeter Academy, Providence Day and The Spence School.

It is a testament to Mangie McQueen’s perseverance and intelligence that this self-made man who had only 3 years of primary education, managed to secure for his descendants all of the educational opportunities that he was denied but surely desired.  Along the way, he built homes that helped so many other black families achieve the American dream of owning a home.

That is his legacy.

Please stand up for Mangie McQueen and all the elders of his and past generations who stood up for the opportunities we all enjoy today.  Please sign the petition if you have not already done so and undertake to forward to others who will also take a stand to protect Mangie McQueen’s legacy.

As always, thank you for your support.

With deepest gratitude,

The McQueen Family