When Courtney Patterson was born on his family’s farm in Lenoir County, North Carolina, 80 years ago, he was fortunate that a country doctor recorded his birth, ensuring that he would have a document later. “But many other people who grew up with me didn’t even have that,” Patterson recalled. Babies were usually delivered at […]
North Carolina Voting Rights
Voting rights in North Carolina are being reshaped. Explore what’s changing and what it means for Black voters and communities in the state.
For more on voting rights across the country, explore our Voting Rights in America coverage.
Posted inHBCUs, Voting
HBCU Students Walk Miles to the Polls After Campus Sites Are Cut
Dozens of North Carolina A&T State University students recently walked more than 30 minutes to a nearby polling site, holding signs that said “Aggie Votes Matter,” “Use Your Vote or Lose Your Vote,” and other signs after they found out there was no early voting site on campus. In January, the North Carolina State Board […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
Some Black Rural Voters Feel Abandoned by Democrats
The election results didn’t shock Keith McCants, a 42-year-old welder in south Georgia. Leading up to Election Day, the chairman of the local Democratic Party had been door-knocking and engaging with voters across Bryan County, about 21 miles from Savannah. He even passed out Kamala Harris for President signs, but people “would take them down […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
At a North Carolina HBCU, Black Students Get Out the Vote
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Standing in a manicured field near the edge of Johnson C. Smith University — an HBCU in Charlotte where his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and others display some of the symbols associated with their organizations – Kevin Napier explained just how large the election has loomed on campus in recent weeks. In […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
A New Voter ID Requirement Has North Carolina Civil Rights Organizers on Edge
The Republican-led North Carolina Supreme Court in April tossed out a ruling that had been handed down when the court leaned Democratic. The move reinstated SB 824, a 2018 law that provides a rigid list of photo IDs approved for voting in the Tar Heel State. This fall’s local elections will be the first contests […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
North Carolina Judges’ Rulings Are a ‘Gut Punch’ to Black Residents
Voting rights advocates are undaunted by the blows that the Republican-controlled North Carolina Supreme Court has struck against access to the ballot box and fair representation — and that will disproportionately disadvantage Black people in the state. “This is where SNCC [the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] was founded. This is where Ella Baker grew up,” […]
