Author: Jordan Meadows

By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released new data last week on student graduation rates, test scores, and grade-level proficiency across the state. Gains remain uneven across regions and demographics, and officials are calling for more targeted support and reform. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice "Mo" Green presented the 2024-2025 school year data to the State Board of Education last week, highlighting that

[caption id="attachment_13611" align="alignnone" width="1781"] Screenshot[/caption] By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Last Wednesday and Thursday, the Raleigh Convention Center became a hub of innovation, strategy, and reflection as the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) hosted its sixth annual North Carolina Transportation Summit. The two-day event brought together over 1,000 attendees and 70 vendors, aiming to tackle some of the state's most pressing transportation challenges-from disaster recovery to cutting-edge technology, workforce

By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Southeast Raleigh community leader Rev. Isaiah Green has filed a class action lawsuit against Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell, alleging violations of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution-specifically concerning equal protection and voting rights. Green filed the suit around September 23, 2025, and there are 90 days to serve the summons. On Tuesday, Green told The Carolinian that Mayor Cowell had requested a

By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Anna Julia Cooper, born into slavery in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1858, emerged as one of the most influential Black scholars and activists in American history.  [caption id="attachment_13530" align="alignleft" width="308"] Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution[/caption] The daughter of Hannah Stanley Haywood and likely the enslaver Fabius J. Haywood, Cooper's early life was marked by the inhumanity of slavery.

By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer This past Labor Day weekend, downtown Raleigh was transformed into a celebration of heritage, creativity, and community during the 16th Annual African American Cultural Festival (AACF) of Raleigh and Wake County. Drawing an estimated 50,000 attendees, the free, family-friendly event stretched across Fayetteville Street and Hargett Street and embraced this year's powerful theme: "Heritage Heartbeat: 16 Years of Rhythm." Festival organizer Pam Thompson Smith explained

By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer  A wave of optimism swept through Raleigh as Fathers Forever, a local nonprofit dedicated to empowering fathers, hosted a Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony at its newly expanded campus on Stony Brook Road.  The event on Thursday drew a crowd of supporters, community leaders, and program participants to witness a new chapter in the organization's journey.  The ceremony's keynote speaker was First Lady Anna Stein, who shared her

By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Throughout the last century, Black Americans have made their voices heard not only through marches, speeches, and sit-ins, but also through a lesser-remembered yet equally powerful form of protest: the economic boycott.  These boycotts were not merely refusals to spend; they were declarations of self-worth. Black communities organizing economic resistance-refusing to support businesses that refused to hire, respect, or serve them with fairness-was vital to

By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer  Veterans, and community members gathered on August 20th at a ribbon cutting event in Garner where the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System officially opened its newest and largest outpatient facility-the Garner VA Clinic, a state-of-the-art center located on Benson Road. The new facility is set to serve more than 30,000 veterans across 27 counties in Central and Eastern North Carolina, including Wake County-home to

[caption id="attachment_13459" align="alignnone" width="1536"] LeVelle Moton (center) turns dirt on site of future Cottages of Idlewild. (Photo by Greg Childress/NC Newsline)[/caption] BY: Jordan Meadows  Staff Writer On Monday, the Raleigh Area Land Trust (RALT), in partnership with Raleigh Raised Development and the City of Raleigh, officially broke ground on the Cottages of Idlewild, the city's first permanently affordable cottage court community. Located in the historically Black neighborhood of Idlewild-the first

  By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten, born Elizabeth Nevills on January 5, 1893, in Carrboro, North Carolina, emerged as one of the most influential figures in American folk and blues music. A self-taught, left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed a singular playing style by flipping a right-handed guitar upside down, creating a distinctive technique in which her thumb played the melody and her fingers plucked the bass strings. This