A little over two weeks after Hurricane Helene turned living rooms into murky, debris-filled pools, washed away homes, and caused upward of $50 billion in damage, dozens of renters and homeowners stood outside the Buncombe County Courthouse on Oct. 17 in Asheville, North Carolina. With winter approaching and temperatures dipping into the 40s, they gathered […]
North Carolina
Posted inInfrastructure, Partner Content, Public Safety
A Boy’s Bicycling Death Still Haunts a Black Neighborhood 35 Years Later
The story originally published on Healthbeat, a nonprofit newsroom covering public health published by Civic News Company and KFF Health News. Sign up for its newsletters here. DURHAM, N.C. — It’s been 35 years since John Parker died after a pickup collided with the bike he was riding on Cheek Road in east Durham before school. He was 6. […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Voting
The Powerful, Unsung Role Black Rural Voters Can Play in Our Elections
For years, Garrett Snuggs questioned why the predominantly white town council of Wadesboro, North Carolina, didn’t reflect its population — 69% of which is Black. In the rural town of 5,000, about 52 miles away from Charlotte, he noticed that many Black folks, particularly youth and men, were disengaged from the political process. That changed […]
Posted inExtreme Weather, Politics & Policy, Voting
Hurricane Helene’s Black Survivors Face Floods, Disinformation, and a Threat to Their Vote
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Robert Thomas’ home is still standing after the coffee-colored floodwaters of Hurricane Helene rushed through his community, but everything that made up his life has been swept away. Thirteen days after Helene first made landfall in the U.S., it is known that at least 230 people died during the storm’s surge, with […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education, Partner Content
Here are the steps North Carolina’s public universities are taking to obey a DEI ban
North Carolina’s 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Math have about six weeks to prove they are complying with a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Some have already taken action to follow the directive, including the shuttering of DEI offices. In May, the UNC Board of Governors repealed its […]
Posted inRural Issues
5-Year Legal Battle Pays Off for Black Residents Who Sued Their City for Condemning Their Properties
Joseph Askew Sr. reveled in good news on a recent Sunday afternoon. The 77-year-old retiree has been in a legal battle to keep his historic properties from being destroyed by the city officials in his hometown, Kinston, North Carolina. Already, they’ve demolished some of his properties. He contends it’s because of his race because officials […]
Posted inRural Issues
This City Wants to Raze Black Properties, at the Cost of Generational Wealth.
On the east side of Kinston, North Carolina, historic buildings still bear the original architecture. Whether it’s on Queen Street, where formerly enslaved people became entrepreneurs, or Gordon Street, the neighborhood’s significance is clear. The rural North Carolina town was once known as a thriving tobacco and textile manufacturing industry and the birthplace of funk […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education, Partner Content
UNC System Faculty at Odds With Process That Aims to Eliminate DEI
Originally published by OpenCampus and North Carolina Public Radio. Less than a week after its surprise inclusion at a University of North Carolina Board of Governors meeting, faculty and students across the system are reacting with confusion and anger at a policy that seeks to eliminate DEI on campuses. “We are stunned at the speed, […]
Posted inEducation, HBCUs, Partner Content
Shaw University Hopes Redevelopment Can Ease Years of Financial Struggle
Shaw University — which has called Raleigh, North Carolina, home since its founding in 1865 — is hoping a campus redevelopment and rezoning project will help ease its financial problems. Like many other historically Black colleges, the university has struggled financially due to declining enrollment, underfunding, and a shrinking market share. Private and federal loans, combined […]
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 […]