Author: Jordan Meadows

By Jordan Meadows  Staff Writer The Civil War dramatically reshaped the lives of enslaved people in eastern North Carolina, particularly after Union forces captured key coastal towns in 1862. Before the war, the conditions faced by enslaved African Americans in the region were harsh and restrictive.  Union forces launched a campaign to seize the North Carolina coast, with the reluctant approval of President Lincoln, in early 1862. The expedition began

By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Members of the Wake County Board of Commissioners' Affordable Housing Committee met Monday morning to review programs aimed at expanding affordable housing and addressing homelessness, including new funding initiatives, partnerships and ongoing planning efforts as the county continues to face rising housing costs and a growing population. The meeting focused on the work of the Wake County Continuum of Care (CoC), a collaborative network that

  By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Long before the Boy Scouts of America became a nationwide institution, Black communities were already working to bring the ideals of scouting to their youth. In the early twentieth century, African American leaders and volunteers organized some of the first Black Boy Scout troops in the country, helping open opportunities for young people who were frequently excluded from mainstream civic organizations. Historians say identifying

By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer In 1925, a home rose on the corner of Fayetteville and Brant Streets in Durham, built for the founder of what would become one of the nation's most important historically Black universities. One hundred years later, the Dr. James E. Shepard House at North Carolina Central University still stands. The home was constructed for university founder and first president James E. Shepard and his family

By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer The Raleigh Women's Market returned to downtown Raleigh this month, transforming Moore Square into a place for women-owned businesses, artists and performers from across the Triangle. Held last Sunday afternoon, the event coincided with International Women's Day and was part of the broader celebrations of Women's History Month. The market featured a curated selection of women-owned and women-led small businesses. Visitors browsed handcrafted goods, artwork

By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer State lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon pressed North Carolina Medicaid officials about rising costs, enrollment trends and funding gaps during a meeting of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid at the North Carolina General Assembly. The briefing from officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services came as lawmakers prepare to return to Raleigh next month to negotiate a long-delayed state budget

By Jordan Meadows  Staff Writer Since its founding in 2017, the Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium has set out to do one thing: transform the philanthropic landscape for Black girls and women across the South. In 2017, LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, encountered a report from the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative showing that Black women and girls received less than one percent of the $4.8 billion

By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer A new exhibit from the state archives is shining a light on stories long left in the margins.  Through MosaicNC, an initiative of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, the state is elevating the voices of free women of color who lived through and helped sustain the American Revolution. The exhibit, led by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, centers

By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Data centers have become the backbone of modern life. In North Carolina, that backbone is expanding at a historic pace by bringing billions in investment, thousands of construction jobs and a growing debate over energy, water and who pays the bill. The warehouse-sized facilities that power cloud computing, artificial intelligence, streaming services and nearly every corner of the modern digital economy are expanding rapidly across

By: Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Professional snowboarder Zeb Powell has spent the past few years redefining what the sport looks like while carrying his North Carolina roots onto some of snowboarding's biggest stages.  Born in Charlotte and raised in Waynesville, Powell grew up far from the traditional mountain hubs that typically produce elite riders, yet carved out a path that would eventually make him one of the most recognizable figures