May 21, 2026

Perhaps it is the over-the-pond voice-over in this May 21 video celebrating Charlotte-Douglas International Airport’s 2025 year. Perhaps it is possibly the AI hallucination of the opening of the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. Perhaps it is the florid text that includes:

“Step into the grandeur, relive the triumphs, and celebrate the royal achievements that made 2025 a year truly worthy of the crown”

But even if it is not your cup of, er, tea, the video celebrating the work completed at CLT in 2025 is certainly, um, of a piece.

Charlotte’s Black voters played a crucial role in turning the tide against a 1980s airport bond issue, insisting (successfully) that the city ensure more inclusive access for minority contractors in an earlier phase of the airport’s development. That activism, back then, was indeed a “crowing achievement.”

– Steve Johnston