Inquisition v. City of Charlotte explained

Inquisition v. City of Charlotte was a landmark First Amendment decision.

The Inquisition was an underground newspaper produced by East Mecklenburg High School students and their various contributors bi-monthly in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 1968 to late 1969.

Background

The Inquisition
School:	East Mecklenburg High School
Format:	Magazine-style
Founders:	Lee Douglas, Hanson Dunbar, Lynwood Sawyer, Russell Schwarz, and Tom Wilkinson
Language:	English
Headquarters:	Charlotte, North Carolina
Oclc:	1644632

The Inquisition was an underground newspaper produced by high school students—mostly attending East Mecklenburg High School—and their various friends bi-monthly in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 1968 to late 1969. Inquisition was the first Underground Press Syndicate member from the U.S. South and a member of Liberation News Service. Copies of Inquisition can be found in 15 university libraries.^[1]

After a first issue of only 81, the magazine went to 450 then doubled again by the third issue.^[2] By its final issues, the newspaper inspired emotional rejections by parents and became an underground icon for teens.^[3]

Inquisition reporters are rumored to have taped one of Jimi Hendrix's last concerts for issue #3.^[4]

Superior Court case

The paper was the subject of a landmark First Amendment case, "Inquisition vs City of Charlotte", pitting freedom of the press against a city zoning ordinance from March - May, 1969.^{[5] [6] [7]} The case, which was partially decided by placing the sound of the paper's small printer against the sound of a power mower, was found in favor of Inquisition.^{[8] [9]}

Revisiting

Inquisition was revisited by way of an interview with two founders, Russell Schwarz and Lynwood Sawyer, with scholar Suzanne Sink and host Michael Collins on WFAE's Charlotte Talks on November 10, 2010, and rebroadcast on January 16, 2012.^{[10] [11]}

Inquisitions story was featured in a retrospective on the year 1968 in Charlotte Magazine September 2013.^[12]

See also

• List of underground newspapers of the 1960s counterculture

External links

• Dunbar, Hanson. High School Organizing Has Its Faults: Former Underground Editor. Page 7. Daily Tar Heel. October 3, 1969.
• Holding in the North Carolina Collection at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
• Encyclopedia of Journalism By D. Charles Whitney, Christopher H. Sterling "Alternative and Underground Newspapers" Volume 1, Page 81.
• The Inquisition - Charlotte Talks. WFAE Radio. Recorded interview by Mike Collins with Inquisition editors Russell Schwarz and Lynwood Sawyer and researcher Suzanne Sink. November 10, 2010. Link includes audio, images of the paper, Sink's research paper on the zoning case and references to the Jimi Hendrix recordings.
• Sink, Suzanne. Fueling the Southern underground Movement, mss 434, Special Collections, J. Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Southern Underground Press: The Project to Archive and Rebuild the Communities of The Southern Underground Press (website)

Notes and References

1. Book: Inquisition. WorldCat. 1644632 . 23 December 2015.
2. News: Dayberry. Don. A Newspaper Inquisition. Charlotte Observer. 26 August 1968. 10A.
3. News: Mother's Afraid of 'Inquisition'. Charlotte Observer. 9 April 1969.
4. Web site: May 09th, 1969. Jimi Hendrix Encyclopedia. Sony Music Entertainment. 23 December 2015.
5. Sink. Suzanne Parenti. Fueling the Southern Underground Movement: Inquisition v. The City of Charlotte. Studies in American Culture. October 2011. 34. 1. 129. https://web.archive.org/web/20151223154559/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/76115600/fueling-southern-underground-movement-inquisition-v-city-charlotte. dead. 2015-12-23. 23 December 2015. English. 76115600.
6. News: Taylor. Nick. Embattled 'Inquisition' Gets Timely Assist from Judge. The Charlotte News. 28 March 1969.
7. News: Taylor. Nick. 'Inquisition' Case Lacks Precedents: Historic Ruling Ahead?. The Charlotte News. 21 April 1969. 20B.
8. News: Taylor. Nick. Inquisition Zone OK, Youths Told: Editors Testify at Hearing. The Charlotte News. 11 April 1969. 1C.
9. News: Taylor. Nick. Judge Gives Ruling: 'Inquisition' Press Can Start Rolling. The Charlotte News. 12 May 1968. 1A, 4A.
10. News: The "Inquisition". 23 December 2015. WFAE. 10 November 2010.
11. Web site: The Inquisition Magazine (Rebroadcast). WFAE. 16 January 2012 . 23 December 2015.
12. News: McShane. Chuck. The Past: 1968. 23 December 2015. Charlotte Magazine. 16 August 2013. September 15, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140915003814/http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/September-2013/The-Past-1968/?cparticle=2&siarticle=1#artanc. dead.