Pushkin music, dance lyrics.

The creation of it, more than any judge's gabble, brought the races together.

In the nineteen thirties, forties and fifties, segregation was the law, but one mysterious black club owner, Charlie Fitzgerald, had his own rules.

Segregation in the day, integration that night.

And dance, Oh my god.

We didn't worry about what went on outside.

It was like stiffing in another world.

Inside Charlie's place, black and white people could listen to music and dance together.

Girl, I've see so many people up in there.

It was grown and people from all over South Carolinas are jolly fish, sure please.

Charlie's was on the Chitlin Circuit where black artists could perform in the South.

Heard of him.

Oh yees, God, Ruth Brown, j Brown, Curtis Mayfield, you're drifted with Otis Red.

At Domino, we had as many whites as we had blacks when they had a.

Band, but not everyone was happy about it.

But there was a lot of shooting.

Peoples running there in through the building and the shot and you know, they're just chaos.

During that time, they was, you know, looking for Charlie and you saw the KKK.

Yeah, they was dressed up in their uniform.

The KKK set out to ray Charlie, take him away from here.

He wanted people to unite and some just did not want that.

Everyone was paying close attention to the things Charlie did.

But did anyone know who Charlie really was?

I think he came from Jamaica, someplace.

I'm saving you from Georgia.

They came from north Nobody knew exactly where.

Nobody talked about where he came from.

A lot of people knew him, but didn't really know him.

He was using another name.

Where he found out Charlie was big question mark.

Was he a businessman, a showman, a criminal, a hero?

Charlie was an example, a power.

They had to crush you.

Charlie's Place a nightclub that defied segregation, A man who became a legend, A story that was nearly lost to time until now.

A five part series from Atlas Obscura and Rococo Punch in partnership with Pushkin Industries and presented by Visit Myrtle Beach.

Listen to Charlie's Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast binge the entire season of Charlie's Place ad free by subscribing to Pushkin Plus, sign up on the show page on Apple Podcasts, or pushkin dot fm, slash Plus.

Pushkin Plus subscribers can access ad free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other true crime podcasts throughout the year.