In the 1960s, with the expansion of the Consolidated University of North Carolina and the state’s community college system, more North Carolinians than ever head to college classrooms.
The 1960s: The Fast Cars and Outlaw Heroes of NASCAR
Thanks to the grit of its drivers and the thrill of its events, the sport started by moonshiners shifts into high gear. Born on the dirt tracks of the North Carolina Piedmont, stock car racing becomes a national pastime.
The 1960s: The State of Literature
In the 1960s, a renewed focus on culture and education brings a burst of energy to the state’s literary scene: Writers sing North Carolina’s praises in poetry and prose.
The 1960s: How Cape Lookout Became a National Seashore
By 1965, the diamond-patterned lighthouse has helped keep seafarers safe for more than a century. Now, a new kind of coastal protection takes shape for the pristine stretch of the Outer Banks.
The 1960s: Close Call over Wayne County
On a quiet night in 1961, a plane from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base accidentally releases two thermonuclear bombs near Goldsboro. Only later do North Carolinians learn how close they came to the brink of disaster.
The 1960s: How a Silent Vigil Changed Duke University
As the nation mourns the loss of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., college students in Durham take action on campus.
The 1960s: North Carolina’s First Professional Basketball Team Mounts a Full-Court Press
In 1969, North Carolina bounds onto the national court: Fans across the Piedmont rally to support the state’s first pro basketball team, the Carolina Cougars.
The 1960s: The Great Blizzard of 1960
The decade blows in with a series of winter storms that threaten to incapacitate the High Country. But residents are resilient — and the rest of the state mobilizes to help.
The 1960s: A Dynamic Decade
Momentum has been building, and by the early 1960s, the payoff is clear: Now in the national spotlight, North Carolina enters an era of action and activism.
