Charlie's Place
How did a Black man in 1940s Jim Crow South open a club where Black and white people danced together? Charlie’s Place was revolutionary, and that meant it was dangerous. In this 5-part series, host Rhym Guissé explores the unbelievable true story of Charlie Fitzgerald, a mysterious Black businessman whose nightclub became an unlikely site of integration in 1940s Myrtle Beach. Charlie broke down racial barriers through the power of music and dance, hosting some of the greatest musicians of our time: Little Richard, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and many more. But who was Charlie? How did he rise to power? And what price did he pay for achieving the impossible—an integrated club in the Jim Crow South? This is a story of joy and passion that erupted into violence and changed a community forever. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season early & ad-free in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus.
Episodes
Beloved. Notorious. Defiant. Folk hero. These are just a few ways to describe Charlie Fitzgerald, the entrepreneur who owned an integrated nightclub during Jim Crow in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. What happened in Myrtle Beach at Charlie’s Place would come to define a community and generations to come. This is the almost forgotten history of Charlie’s Place.
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“Myrtle Beach was a good place, if you stay in your place, I’ll put it like that.”
At the height of segregation, when everywhere else was divided. Black and white people danced together to the biggest R&B acts of the time at Charlie’s Place. How was this possible? And who was the mythic proprietor of this mythic space?
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“All the dancers wanted that black music. Why? Because it had a danceable backbeat.”
Dance at Charlie’s Place wasn’t just dance; it captured the spirit of an era defined by both segregation and creativity. When white audiences arrived for the music, these moments sparked shifts that transformed Myrtle Beach and resonated far beyond its borders.
“He helped people. He loaned people. He wasn't to be trifled with”
Charlie Fitzgerald built multiple businesses across Myrtle Beach – the hotel, the club, the cab company, the high-stakes poker game – and loaned money to white folks in town to bend the rules in his favor. How long would this last before Charlie became a target?
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“And in the minds of many, Charlie Fitzgerald's dance hall becomes the worst fears of the champions of white supremacy.”
There’s much mystery surrounding Charlie Fitzgerald and who he was before Myrtle Beach. Before he was Charlie Fitzgerald he was Lucious Rucker. So who is Lucious Rucker?
Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season early & ad-free in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus.
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“You know, that incident was what many of us consider the ugliest black molar in our local history. It was just pure evil and ugly.”
August 26th, 1950 was the night that changed Myrtle Beach. It changed Charlie and the impact reverberated throughout the south.
Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season early & ad-free in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus.
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