The Carolinian Newspaper

Doula Program Supports Moms Across Rural Eastern N.C.

admin — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 16:33:00 +0000

By Quiana Shepard

NCCU

In parts of rural North Carolina, an expectant mother may drive more than an hour to reach a hospital that delivers babies. For families living in small towns in the eastern region of the state, access to maternity care often means navigating long distances, limited services and a shrinking number of hospitals.

But pregnancy does not pause for geography.

That reality is driving a new initiative from North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) Rural Health Hub, where leaders are training a new generation of community-based birth doulas to support mothers before, during and after childbirth.

For Undi Hoffler, Ph.D., CD (DONA), director of the Community-Based Doula Program, the mission of the program begins with a simple truth.

“Birth is sacred,” she said. “It’s beautiful. It’s a miracle. Families deserve to experience that moment with dignity, support and confidence.”

When Access Is Miles Away

Across the United States, maternal mortality rates remain among the highest in developed nations. Although rates have declined since the pandemic, significant disparities persist. Black women experience mortality rates three to four times higher than white and Hispanic women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The numbers are also concerning in rural communities. Approximately 21% of rural counties are classified as maternity care deserts, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. In addition, 13.4% of women in rural areas have no birthing hospital within 30 minutes, compared with 9.7% nationwide.

“It’s an access issue in eastern North Carolina,” Hoffler explains. “People are traveling hours just to receive care.”

Hospitals in Halifax and Nash counties frequently serve patients from surrounding counties like Northampton, Edgecombe, Bertie, Warren, Franklin and Martin, communities where maternity services may be limited.

But even when medical care is available, families often lack consistent support throughout pregnancy and postpartum recovery, which typically lasts from 6 to 8 weeks.

That gap is where doulas make a difference.

Building Care From the Community Up

Launched in December 2025, the Community-Based Birth Doula Training Program is part of the university’s broader Rural Health Hub initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on improving health outcomes in underserved communities.

Based in Enfield, North Carolina, the hub serves as a center for community engagement and workforce development. Rather than recruiting professionals from outside the region, the hub focuses on training individuals who already live in the communities they will serve.

“It’s important that our doulas come from these communities,” Hoffler says. “They’re building relationships with families they know. That’s how you build trust.”

The first cohort included 12 doulas, each supported with scholarships covering training, certification and materials. Participants completed coursework through DONA (Doulas of North America) International, one of the leading doula certification organizations, along with CPR training, childbirth education and professional development workshops. To become certified, each trainee must attend three qualified births within their first year, with the Rural Health Hub helping connect them to opportunities through healthcare partnerships, including BlueCross BlueShield through the Doula Exchange.

For Rose Lewis, a member of the first cohort, the program builds upon years of community-based work. A Nash County resident, nonprofit founder and community health worker, Lewis has long helped families access essential services, from transportation to healthcare.

“Access to information and education, that’s what inspired me,” Lewis said. “Especially for our Black and brown communities. Many expectant mothers don’t know what a doula is; they’re confusing it with a midwife. So just bringing awareness can make a difference in their outcomes.”

Through her nonprofit, Equipping the Community Organization Inc., Lewis has supported families across the lifespan, from navigating Medicare and Medicaid services, medical appointments, and other supportive services. In that work, she noticed a gap in support during pregnancy.

“I kept seeing resources for after the baby gets here,” she said. “But what about the support leading up to birth?”

Her motivation became personal after a woman connected to her extended family died during childbirth and her own daughter experienced a high-risk pregnancy.

“Everything turned out okay with my daughter,” she said. “But I saw how stressful it was. Not every woman has someone there to support and encourage them.”

Now, Lewis focuses on helping mothers understand their options and advocate for themselves.

“When you’re informed, you can advocate for yourself,” she said. “That’s what I want for the families I serve.”

Why Doulas Matter

A doula provides emotional, physical and informational support during pregnancy, labor and the weeks following birth. Unlike doctors or midwives, doulas do not provide medical care, but they help families understand their options and navigate the childbirth experience.

Research shows that doula support can significantly improve maternal outcomes.

According to a 2025 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, births attended by doulas are associated with lower cesarean rates, fewer medical interventions and improved newborn health indicators. Mothers also report higher satisfaction and confidence in their birth experiences.

But Hoffler emphasizes that the impact extends beyond delivery day.

“A lot of maternal mortality happens after birth,” she said. “We want moms to understand when something isn’t right and feel empowered to seek help.”

Doulas often stay connected with families during the postpartum period, helping mothers process their birth experiences, adjust to new parenthood and recognize warning signs that require medical attention.

That consistent support can be especially valuable in rural areas where healthcare access may be limited.

“Information is power,” Hoffler said. “When moms understand their bodies and their options, they can advocate for themselves.”

Restoring a Longstanding Tradition

Doulas are gaining renewed attention in healthcare, with the North American industry projected to grow at an annual rate of 8.41% and reach $25.36 billion by 2033, according to a 2026 Market Research Intellect report, but the practice has deep historical roots.

Long before childbirth became primarily hospital-based in the 1930’s, community birth workers played a central role in guiding families through pregnancy and delivery.

Over time, the medicalization of childbirth pushed many traditional birth workers aside. Today, research and advocacy are helping bring their role back.

“The research shows that having a doula improves outcomes for moms and babies,” Hoffler said. “But it’s also about restoring the kind of support families once had in their communities.”

Harnett County Holds Legislative Luncheon To Discuss Challenges

Ms. Jheri Worldwide — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 20:26:00 +0000

By Jheri Hardaway

Staff Writer

Lillington, N.C. - In a recently held Annual Legislative Luncheon, Harnett County commissioners met with state and federal legislators to discuss a range of issues affecting the county, with a particular focus on budgetary constraints, education funding, and state versus local control. The meeting, which aimed to facilitate dialogue and seek support for county priorities, was marked by both collaborative intent and expressions of frustration over the limitations placed on local government by the state and federal entities.

One of the primary topics of discussion was the challenge of meeting the needs of a growing population with a limited revenue stream. Commissioners shared their desire for greater autonomy in making decisions that impact their constituents, citing a deep understanding of local needs that they believe is sometimes overlooked by higher levels of government. The potential impact of state-mandated revenue-neutral property assessments was a key point of contention. While legislators emphasized the need for a balanced approach to taxation and the prevention of exorbitant tax hikes, commissioners voiced concerns about the limitations this might place on their ability to fund essential services, including schools and infrastructure development. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to school funding, particularly the need for new high schools and the challenges posed by the growing number of students connected to the military. Commissioners highlighted the financial strain associated with building and operating these schools, and legislators shared their efforts to secure federal impact aid.

The issue of impact fees was also raised, with commissioners expressing frustration over the state's restrictions on their ability to implement fees to offset the costs of growth. While legislators acknowledged the challenges faced by local governments, they also emphasized the legal and political complexities surrounding the implementation of such fees. There was a discussion about the possibility of introducing a local bill to allow Harnett County to exercise impact fees for education and infrastructure, with some legislators expressing support for the idea while acknowledging the potential for opposition from state leadership. There was a combine sense of frustration and insincerity in this feedback from the legislators as commissioners asserted that as previous county commissioners “What would you do?” As a viewer the sentor and representative assertion that the argument for impact fees would go no where was alarming and should be something that voters across the state pay attention to.

Another topic of discussion was the impact of inflation on infrastructure projects. Legislators noted that the influx of federal funds during the pandemic had inadvertently contributed to inflation, leading to higher costs for materials and labor. This has complicated efforts to complete essential infrastructure projects within budget. The meeting also touched upon other issues, including the cost of healthcare, the need for increased workforce development, and the challenges associated with providing services to a diverse population. Legislators shared their ongoing efforts to address these issues, including the introduction of bills aimed at reducing healthcare costs and promoting lifelong learning.

Towards the end of the luncheon, a representative from the office of Congressman Ted Budd addressed the attendees, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between federal, state, and local governments. He highlighted the availability of various federal grants that could potentially help address some of the county's needs, including grants for school systems, rural development, and workforce development.

The meeting concluded with expressions of appreciation from both commissioners and legislators for the opportunity to engage in a dialogue although the event did not move the needle on any of the addressed topics. Commissioners reiterated their commitment to advocating for the best interests of Harnett County residents and expressed hope that the legislators would continue to support their efforts to address the challenges facing the county. The legislators, in turn, reaffirmed their commitment to representing the county at the state and federal levels and emphasized the importance of receiving clear requests and resolutions from the county to effectively advocate on their behalf.

The luncheon, where no citizens were allowed to speak or eat lunch, provided a public setting for commissioners and legislators to connect and discuss issues of mutual concern. While differences of opinion emerged on certain topics, the overall tone of the meeting was collaborative, with a shared focus on finding solutions that benefit the citizens of Harnett County. There were no concrete next steps or plans, only the promise of more conversations.

Black-led Nonprofits Didn’t See The Lasting Funding Boosts Promised After 2020’s Racial Reckoning Promises

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:31:00 +0000

Asiaha Butler, the co-founder of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood, poses for a photo outside her office in Chicago, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

NEW YORK (AP) — The racial reckoning that followed George Floyd ‘s murder in 2020 carried hopes of new support for disproportionately underfunded, Black-led nonprofits. American companies stepped up donations to historically Black colleges and universities. Major climate funders pledged to give more toward minority groups. Large donors sought to narrow the racial wealth gap.

But new research released Tuesday shows that such financial gains for many Black-led nonprofits were short-lived, if they happened at all. A subset of large, Black-led nonprofits saw only temporary funding increases between 2020 and 2022, according to the analysis by nonprofit research service Candid and Black philanthropy group ABFE. Smaller organizations saw no significant change.

The pattern of disinvestment put many community groups at a greater disadvantage when President Donald Trump’s policies curtailed funding for diversity, equity and inclusion. The nonprofit sector’s struggles deepened as the administration threatened a range of social service programs, left future grants uncertain by cutting agency staff and chilled racial justice funding through anti-DEI executive orders.

Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright noted these community nonprofits are the same ones now tasked with helping more and more low-income families deal with spiking healthcare costs and rising food prices.

The dynamic rang true for a South Side Chicago group serving a predominantly Black neighborhood among the city’s most impoverished. Asiaha Butler, the CEO of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood, cofounded the nonprofit more than 15 years ago to empower her neighbors to combat their area’s negative narratives.

That mission had a handful of consistent backers. But summer 2020 brought more than two dozen new funders.

“All of a sudden, we were desirable for people to fund,” recalled Butler, adding the “spurt” became a “curse” as the quick infusion of capital tapered off.

“We started seeing this revenue and thinking we’re gaining really great relationships with funders,” she said. “And, really, those priorities shifted quickly.”

Lacking relationships

Foundations lacked relationships with Black organizations of any scale prior to 2020, according to ABFE CEO Susan Taylor Batten.

Black philanthropy professionals say that distance created a scramble when protestors demanded businesses and philanthropies address systemic racism.

Kia Croom, whose fundraising firm works with nonprofits in Black communities, said her clients received more funding than ever from corporations. Some hired additional development staff to meet the demand — and then underwent layoffs when funds disappeared.

“It was just a very transactional gift at best,” she said.

Positive Results Center CEO Kandee Lewis oversees a Los Angeles nonprofit assisting survivors of domestic violence and other harms. It was wonderful, she said, to receive checks from new supporters. But oftentimes, the support turned out to be a one-time donation rather than the beginning of a relationship.

Lewis felt the funding came only because her group was Black-led — not because funders understood its work.

“They were so busy trying to figure out who was who that they didn’t really take time to get to know people,” she said.

Limited networks

Jaleesa Hall knows philanthropy is a relationship game.

She heads Raising A Village Foundation, which aims to advance educational equity through tutoring programs. She didn’t have many high net worth members in her network when she founded the Washington, D.C. nonprofit more than six years ago.

That circle made it difficult to catch the attention of foundations, which she said “haven’t really cracked” how to find potential grantees outside of their existing web of connections.

“Small, Black-led nonprofits simply aren’t in those rooms to begin with,” Hall said.

Most of their foundation grant dollars came from first-time funders, according to the report.

Cathleen Clerkin, the associate vice president of research at Candid, said the nonprofits’ work is made even more challenging by the “song and dance” necessary to secure long-term investment every year.

“They’re just constantly going on first dates with new funders and hoping that somebody will invest in them and understand them,” she said.

Small nonprofit leaders are so focused on day-to-day upkeep and financial viability that they don’t have time to attend networking opportunities or money to fly out for national convenings.

T’Pring Westbrook, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, co-founded a consulting group that works with small nonprofits. The problem isn’t that foundations don’t want to support marginalized communities, she said, but that they do so through “trend funding.”

“Maybe during Black History Month there will be a funding campaign,” she said. “But the thing about a campaign is a campaign doesn’t build sustainability.”

Restrictive practices

Small nonprofits say they face additional barriers, regardless of race, including grant eligibility requirements. And limited staff may prevent qualifying organizations from keeping up with foundations’ required weekly or monthly reports on the status of projects they’ve funded.

“It ends up feeling like a burden,” Hall explained. “The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”

Philanthropy has seen a sector-wide shift towards trust-based models that offer general operating support and multi-year grants, acknowledging nonprofits’ expertise on how to best fulfill their missions. But Batten, the ABFE leader, said Black-led nonprofits generally have not reaped the benefits of those best practices.

The report showed Black-led nonprofits had significantly fewer continuing funders than their non-Black counterparts. Only one-third received general operating support, compared to just over half of other nonprofits.

“We are still seeing remnants of bad practice when it comes to investing in Black communities,” Batten said. “There’s just no way for a foundation to move its mission for communities in this country, let alone Black nonprofits to move theirs, if we do not evolve this sector.”

‘Pulling teeth’ in Chicago

Butler, the Chicago neighborhood association leader, hears excuses now from supporters who gave at the height of the 2020 racial justice movement: “Priorities have shifted,” they tell her, or there are “new strategic goals.”

“Little buzz words that just say perhaps this nonprofit -- grassroots, Black-led, very focused on the Black population -- is probably just not in peoples’ cards to continue to support,” she said.

That downturn delayed a nearly $7 million capital project building off their economic justice work after the post-George Floyd civil unrest. An 8,800-square-foot (817 square-meter) building would include a dine-in restaurant and another Black-owned business. One tenant would provide workforce development trainings. Her goal is to strengthen Englewood’s economic and social fabric through a thriving Black business district.

By 2023, she had secured a $1 million grant — her nonprofit’s largest — to start the project. But she compared her search for additional funding to “pulling teeth.” Past philanthropic partners withheld support. Their prospects weren’t good.

She’s turning to public funding. The City of Chicago provided a $2.5 million grant and Butler said another $1.5 million state award is pending.

“Things shifted and so we didn’t want to start soliciting for a capital campaign,” she said. “The timing was off.”

Juvenile Crime Prevention Council’s Impact and Opportunities

Ms. Jheri Worldwide — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:20:00 +0000

By Jheri Hardaway

Staff Writer

Are you familiar with the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council or JCPC? The Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention partners with Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils in each county to galvanize community leaders, locally and statewide, to reduce and prevent juvenile crime. JCPC board members are appointed by each county's board of commissioners and meet monthly or bimonthly in each county. The meetings are open to the public, and all business is considered public information. DJJDP allocates approximately $28 million to these councils annually. Funding is used to subsidize local programs and services. The JCPC is a state-mandated board in North Carolina that serves as the local "think tank" for addressing youth delinquency. The North Carolina General Assembly established JCPCs to ensure that the solutions for at-risk youth are decided by the people who actually live in those communities, rather than just bureaucrats in Raleigh.

The primary goal is to provide community-based alternatives to youth development centers (juvenile detention). The council's job is to make sure kids who are at risk or already in the system have access to resources that keep them on the right path and out of a cell. The council is designed to be a "multi-disciplinary" group. It typically includes: the Sheriff and Chief of Police, the District Attorney, and the School Superintendent, a Juvenile Court Counselor, and community members who represent from the business community, non-profits, and citizens-at-large who bring a fresh perspective.

Dr. Raymond E. Smith Jr. shared, “Our children are the future of the community, and in our country, they cannot under any circumstances be cast aside, overlooked, or undervalued. Their presence, their well-being, their future is critical to the ongoing continuity of our communities and this country. I advocate for children because that's one thing all of us adults have in been; children, each of us has been a child at some point. None of us has made all the right decisions. And under no circumstances, can we abandon our children. They have value and they need to know their value and they need to hear that from us so the juvenile crime prevention council, all of the programs that fall under the JCPC are critical and vital and I asked everyone in the community to join in and support these programs and support the youth in our community. No one can be thrown away.”

Check with your local county to see how the JCPC funds are being allocated. Which local non profits are they collaborating with? Who is making the decisions for programs that empower at risk youth? Knowledge is power, now that you know more what can you do to help our youth?

What If Duke Energy Shared Part Of The Burden Of Fuel Costs With Its Customers?

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:15:00 +0000

Canary Media – If the war in the Middle East has proved anything over the last month, it’s that fossil fuel prices are extraordinarily unstable. But global conflict isn’t the only catalyst that can send the cost of oil and natural gas reeling. Factors such as extreme weather, policy changes, and pipeline outages can also set off a price roller coaster.

In North Carolina, all this volatility is prompting calls for change. Advocates want the state to join the handful of others that require electric utilities to absorb a fraction of fossil fuel prices — rather than saddling customers with all of them, as the companies do now.

The point of the policy, called fuel-cost sharing, is twofold. It can bring utility bills down for average consumers, who are increasingly angry about ballooning expenses. And it can aid the clean energy transition: If the state’s predominant utility, Duke Energy, knows that its shareholders will take a hit when fuel prices rise, the company may scale back its dependence on polluting gas plants and instead rely more on emissions-free, fuel-free forms of energy, like wind, solar, and batteries.

The notion of fuel-cost sharing is still very much in its nascence here, where Duke wields incredible power over the Republican-controlled legislature, and neither lawmakers nor regulators have pushed the company to invest in cheap, clean energy.

But proponents of the idea say the conversation is still worth having.

“Fuel dependence creates vulnerability — whether it’s gasoline for your car or natural gas for your power plants,” said Josh Brooks, chief of policy strategy and innovation for the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. “Tying costs to volatile commodities means a lot of risk exposure for ratepayers. That’s an issue both regulators and policymakers should take up.”

Utility bills shock and frustrate

North Carolina is far from unique. Most states with vertically integrated utilities allow them to pass 100% of fuel costs to their customers. Utility shareholders don’t earn a return on those outlays in the same way they profit from building new power plants, but they’re insulated from the wild price swings inherent in the global fossil fuel market. Consumers are not.

Ratepayers, for instance, bore the full brunt of spiking gas prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Confusingly for customers, Duke doesn’t specify these fuel charges on their bills; instead, the charges are incorporated into a nondescript line item, leaving consumers to ferret out on their own what they’re paying for fossil fuels.

The lack of clarity around fuel costs adds to customers’ outrage about rising bills. One example of the widespread frustration: A Change.org petition calling for Duke to submit to an independent audit and refund its customers for any improper charges has drawn more than 73,000 signatures so far.

“Unexpected and unexplainable increases in Duke Energy bills have become a major concern for many families,” the petition begins. “When bills rise without reasonable justification or transparency, it impacts our ability to plan and manage our household finances effectively.”

The average household Duke Energy bill has risen by nearly 45% since 2020, according to an analysis from the Energy and Policy Institute, because of a confluence of factors. The cost of natural gas is a major one.

Research from the Environmental Defense Fund shows that fuel costs accounted for 67% of rate increases from 2017 to 2024 in Duke’s central North Carolina territory, and for 46% of the hikes in the rest of the state. While fuel costs did dip last year, they’re still about double what they were in 2017.

“Fuel costs have stayed high since the 2021-22 price spike,” Will Scott, the environmental group’s North Carolina policy director, said in a written response to Canary Media. “At the same time, Duke has become more natural gas reliant, with even more new gas plants on the way.”

Editor’s note: NC Newsline asked Duke Energy to respond to this story.

“The law is clear, customers must pay what we pay, no less and no more,” said Duke Energy spokesman Bill Norton. “Carbon-free nuclear efficiently provides about half of our energy in the Carolinas, and North Carolina is among the top 5 the nation for solar, so fuel expenses have not impacted customer bills as drastically here as in other regions of the country.”

Rocky Mount Mayor Pro-Tem Andre Knight

Jordan Meadows — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:04:00 +0000

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

A state audit has found that years of mismanagement, weak oversight, and aggressive spending pushed the City of Rocky Mount to the brink of financial collapse, with officials warning that the city’s fiscal trajectory had become “unsustainable” before recent corrective actions were taken.

In a performance audit completed March 9, the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor detailed what it described as “serious financial failures,” including a staggering 78% drop in the city’s cash and investment balances—from roughly $100 million in August 2023 to just $21.8 million by August 2025.

State Auditor Dave Boliek said the findings point to systemic issues in leadership and decision-making:

“OSA’s audit of Rocky Mount has uncovered serious financial failures,” Boliek said. “From the lack of due diligence in hiring the former City Manager, to cycling through five Finance Department directors, it’s clear that Rocky Mount has not been serious about resolving its financial issues.”

The audit was launched after complaints from residents and public concerns raised during City Council meetings. According to Boliek, his office received more inquiries about Rocky Mount than any other government entity since he took office in 2025.

At the center of the report is the hiring of former City Manager Keith Rogers Jr., who auditors say was brought on in March 2023. The audit found no evidence that the City Council conducted independent reference checks before unanimously approving his appointment. Rogers had previously overseen a budget overspend in Dumfries, Virginia.

Auditors concluded that under Rogers’ tenure, city spending surged dramatically while revenues declined. Between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, employee compensation increased by 27%, including a 47% jump in police salaries and a 22% increase for firefighters. At the same time, capital spending ballooned, with a 153% increase in fiscal year 2024 alone. Major expenditures included $17.2 million for land tied to a proposed casino and entertainment complex that has yet to materialize, $11.2 million for the redevelopment of a fire station that far exceeded initial estimates, and millions more for fleet leasing and the purchase of heavy equipment.

The audit found that many of these expenditures were made without adequate financial analysis and, in some cases, without proper City Council approval. Investigators cited evidence that Rogers attempted to bypass council oversight by structuring contracts to fall below approval thresholds. In a separate investigative report, auditors also found that Rogers authorized a $795,500 consulting contract without a formal request for proposals or council involvement; more than $385,000 had already been paid before the contract was terminated.

Auditors found that council members approved budgets without sufficient financial data, missed statutory audit deadlines, and did not hold city management accountable for a lack of transparency. Meanwhile, the city’s finance department experienced significant instability, cycling through five directors in recent years, some of whom lacked local government finance experience. At one point, the city failed to reconcile its checking account for 13 months.

Warnings from the state’s Local Government Commission had gone unheeded: the commission repeatedly designated Rocky Mount a “municipality in financial distress” for three consecutive years.

In response to the crisis, city leaders have taken a series of corrective steps, including cutting positions, scaling back spending, and raising revenues. The city eliminated dozens of full-time jobs—roughly 10% of its workforce—reduced part-time staffing, and implemented utility rate increases of about 15% across services such as electricity, water, and trash collection. For residents, that has translated into higher monthly costs.

“This mess is unfortunately costing local residents,” Boliek said, noting widespread public concern.

At the same time, state leaders have sharply criticized the city’s governance. State Treasurer Brad Briner called the situation “nothing short of financial malpractice,” while Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, speaking as a member of the Local Government Commission, said, “I find the culture to be unworthy of the citizens of Rocky Mount.”

Mayor Sandy Roberson acknowledged the severity of the situation, telling state officials, “We have certainly gotten the memo. We certainly understand the seriousness of this.”

Newly appointed City Manager Elton Daniels and Finance Director Cheryl Spivey have emphasized a shift toward more disciplined financial practices, including conservative revenue projections and outside expertise from state and municipal partners.

The Local Government Commission has stopped short of taking over the city’s finances but has imposed heightened oversight, requiring twice-monthly financial reports. A full state takeover remains a possibility if conditions do not improve—an outcome that would make Rocky Mount the largest municipality in North Carolina history to lose control of its finances.

NC’s Electoral Future May Hinge On Rural Black Voters Who Feel Ignored By Democrats

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:02:00 +0000

Damion Farrow, 49, who works for a contract security firm, speaking from his hometown of Powellsville, N.C., on March 12, 2026, says he hears from Democratic political campaigns only at election time. But he's been a reliable Democratic voter anyway, he says. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)

(AP) - Ricky Brinkley has lived in rural North Carolina nearly all of his 65 years, and he likes it "out in the county," past the street lights and bustle of the small towns that carpet the landscape.

But the former truck driver can feel left out when elections roll around in this battleground state.

"People don't come out like they should and ask you how you feel about things," Brinkley said while he manned the counter at his daughter's beauty supply store down the street from the Nashville courthouse. "You want somebody to vote, but you don't want to do nothing to get the vote. No, it don't work that way."

Brinkley is among the rural Black residents who Democrats have often failed to mobilize as they try to dent Republican advantages here. It's an urgent demographic puzzle for the party, which is normally strong with Black voters but tends to fall short in rural areas.

Success could help former Gov. Roy Cooper win a hotly contested U.S. Senate race this year and tilt the balance of power in Washington. It could also reshape presidential elections, providing Democrats with a wider path to the White House.

"People want to look at the word 'rural' in North Carolina and equate it to the word 'white,'" said state party chair Anderson Clayton, a 28-year-old who won her job three years ago promising to expand the party beyond cities. "In my vision of a Democratic Party, when you talk about reaching out to rural voters, you are talking about rural Black voters."

The Rev. James Gailliard, a former state lawmaker who leads a large Black congregation in Rocky Mount, put it even more bluntly.

"You don't win this state in Durham," Gailliard said. "You win it in the east."

It's about more than Cooper's Senate bid

North Carolina is known for the university-heavy Research Triangle that includes Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, along with Charlotte's banking hub. But it also includes large swaths of small towns and rural areas where Democrats have lost ground in recent decades.

That's not just because of white voters realigning with Republicans. It's also because Black voters who lean Democratic don't vote as often as their urban counterparts. Those rural Black voters are concentrated east of the triangle, extending along winding state highways through small towns, flatlands and farmland toward the Atlantic coastline.

Cooper, 68, won two terms as governor and four terms as state attorney general. However, Republicans control the state courts and the legislature, and they've redrawn the congressional map to expand their advantage in the U.S. House. Donald Trump carried the state for Republicans all three times he ran for the White House.

A native of rural Nash County, Cooper already in recent months held roundtable sessions with Black farmers, business owners and civic leaders in eastern North Carolina, along with students from North Carolina A&T University, a historically Black school that draws students from across the state. His campaign promises a statewide organizing effort before November.

Gailliard wants a more intentional effort

But Gailliard wants more.

The founding pastor at Word Tabernacle Church, Gailliard was among the Black state lawmakers who lost seats after Republican-led redistricting. He said regaining ground will require neighborhood-level organizing and investment from national Democrats, something he struggled to get from Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign

"I couldn't get any traction," Gailliard recalled. "I begged them to bring her to Rocky Mount. I said, 'Listen, Rocky Mount is the gateway to the East. If we crack Rocky Mount, we've cracked the East.' Could not convince them to come. Two weeks later, guess who's in Rocky Mount? Donald Trump."

The Harris campaign sent former President Bill Clinton to the area instead.

Gailliard said Cooper needs people like him to get elected.

"Roy is a great friend, and I'm gonna run my butt off to help him in every way, but I'm not banking on his coattails," Gailliard said. "I'm going to do the opposite. I'm going to grow coattails for him."

The state party tries to fill gaps

Clayton, the state party chair, said the national party and its donors haven't prioritized North Carolina early enough in recent cycles.

She said she's relied mostly on local money to finance 25 full-time staffers, more than three times what the state party had heading into the 2022 midterms.

Bertie County Democratic chairwoman Camille Taylor, whose hometown of Powellsville has fewer than 200 residents, said she's felt the shift.

She speaks regularly with a field organizer in nearby Greenville, the city closest to the northeastern counties with large proportions of Black residents. But she said it's especially difficult to persuade rural voters to care about voting beyond the presidency, even though she tells them "these are the races and the people that you're going to interact with more."

Democrats have recruited candidates in all 170 legislative districts — two are Democratic-aligned independents — and every U.S. House district. State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, a noted civil rights attorney and Black woman, is running statewide for reelection.

Gailliard said he's identified a few hundred nonprofits, neighborhood associations and other groups that can do issue-orientated work in his district as the election approaches. He wants to match each of them to specific precincts, routing money for them to reach voters and persuade them to vote

He wants volunteers to get training from Democratic and left-leaning organizations rather than have the outsiders themselves knocking on rural Black voters' doors.

"We can't have 21-year-old recent college graduates from Utah knocking doors at $22 an hour in the hood," Gailliard said. "That just does not work. They're not a trusted messenger."

Marginal voting changes add up

About 2 in 10 North Carolina voters in the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections were Black, according to AP VoteCast, as well as in the 2022 Senate election.

Roughly 4 in 10 Black voters in North Carolina's last presidential election said they live in small towns or rural communities, similar to the share who said they live in the suburbs. Only about one-quarter reported living in urban areas.

Small shifts in persuasion matter, particularly when races are close. In 2008, Barack Obama became the last Democratic presidential candidate to win North Carolina, by a margin of just 14,000 votes out of 4.3 million votes cast.

Voter turnout between the 2020 and 2024 elections declined more in North Carolina counties that have larger Black populations.

Counties where Black voters make up about 30% to 40% of the electorate saw the biggest drop, with turnout falling by more than 3 percentage points. Counties with smaller Black populations saw more modest declines of about 1 percentage point. Overall, turnout remains higher in counties with fewer Black voters.

An old Cooper schoolmate just wants to be asked

Gailliard said Democrats cannot underestimate how much it means for someone to simply get asked for their vote.

"Black and rural voters are not transactional," he said. "They are relational."

Back in Nashville at the beauty supply store, Brinkley agreed.

"You get to be a big wheel, and you can forget where you came from," Brinkley said. "I ain't gonna say Roy forgot. He's a hometown guy, so to speak, but I don't expect to see him out here walking."

Brinkley made it clear that if he votes, it would be for Cooper and other Democrats — but only if he votes.

"I could. I could. I may vote," he said. "There's just so much going on."

___ Sweedler reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.

April Is Our National Fair Housing Month

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:01:54 +0000

National Fair Housing Month celebrates the passage of the Fair Housing Act in April, 1968, a national law that prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, and gender. The Act was later amended to include protections for people with disabilities and families with children. In the State of California, there are additional protections for marital status, sexual orientation, ancestry, source of income and for arbitrary characteristics such as age or occupation.

Fair Housing Month reminds us that the principle of fair housing is not only state and national law, but a fundamental human concept and entitlement for all people. As a community we welcome all good neighbors, recognizing the contributions and richness tendered by a wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds, colors, ethnicities or religious traditions.

To ensure compliance with the law, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enforces fair housing rules and fair housing regulations. HUD also provides fair housing guidelines to help housing providers, lenders, and others understand their responsibilities under the law.

National Fair Housing Month traces its roots back to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. Just one week after this tragic event, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law on April 11, 1968. Since then, the month of April has been dedicated to raising awareness about fair housing and promoting equal opportunity in the housing market.

Fair housing plays a crucial role in promoting social and economic equity, as well as creating diverse, inclusive communities. By ensuring equal access to housing, we provide opportunities for all people to live in neighborhoods with quality schools, safe streets, and access to essential services. Here are some key ways fair housing contributes to the overall well-being of individuals and communities:

By preventing housing discrimination, fair housing laws help to break down barriers that have historically led to racial and socioeconomic segregation. This allows for greater integration of neighborhoods, which fosters understanding, cooperation, and respect among people from different backgrounds.

Fair housing practices contribute to healthier communities by ensuring access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. Living in a stable, secure, and well-maintained home is essential for good physical and mental health. Moreover, access to housing in neighborhoods with clean air, green spaces, and recreational facilities can have a positive impact on the overall health and well-being of residents.

Improving Education Opportunities: Fair housing laws help to level the playing field in education by allowing families to access neighborhoods with high-quality schools. This can lead to better educational outcomes for children, as well as increased opportunities for higher education and career advancement.

D.A.R.E. Failed, D.E.A.R. Succeeded: Reading Is Liberation

Ms. Jheri Worldwide — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:22:00 +0000

By Jheri Hardaway

Staff Writer

Last week, in reference to the Afroman trial, there was a mention of the D.A.R.E. program. The emphasis was on the fact that his hit song, “Because I Got High,” did more for drug awareness than its contemporary program D.A.R.E., which has recently come under fire. According to a 2023 NPR report, “numerous studies published in the 1990s and early 2000s concluded programs like D.A.R.E. had no significant impact on drug use. And one study actually found a slight uptick in drug use among suburban students after participation in D.A.R.E.” Several reports regarding the program suggest that the program operated similarly to a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme, where officers allegedly received financial incentives or "kickbacks" for recruiting other officers to the program.

For me, D.A.R.E. actually educated me on different drugs, and on how and where to hide them. I was made aware of a world I knew nothing about by participating in this program. We were given a free t-shirt and a slice of pizza for our participation. Around this same time in elementary and middle school, we religiously participated in D.E.A.R., which stands for “drop everything and read.” We were encouraged to read whatever we wanted from magazines, books, news articles it didn’t matter as long as we were reading. I remember a student bringing in a manual for a lawnmower and being captivated. At times there would be a visible timer, but I began to realize teachers would wait for us to be engaged and then turn the timer off empowering us to get lost in the text as long as we were all quiet and focused. Several of our teachers would give us activities to do with the material we read. For example, writing a summary and presenting to the class. There were even teachers over the years who would share reading materials they had set aside just for me based on my interests. D.E.A.R. is a direct reason for my love of reading today.

I fear that students today are not experiencing reading as a priority; it is more of a task. As a career educator I’ve seen a variety of lesson plans and substitute plans and D.E.A.R. no longer appears to be a priority. It is essential that we encourage and develop a love of reading in our youth. Reading encourages ideas, increases vocabulary, and can empower future generations with historic insights to take our society to new heights.

Alpha South Regional HBCU College Fair in Raleigh

Jordan Meadows — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:15:00 +0000

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

The 2026 Alpha South Regional Convention and FOCUS HBCU College Fair brought more than 1,500 students to the Raleigh Convention Center last Thursday. Running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the annual event connected students from across North Carolina with representatives from historically Black colleges and universities throughout the Southeast region of the U.S., offering information on admissions, scholarships, academic programs, and extracurricular opportunities.

In addition to traditional college outreach, the fair featured resources for ACT and SAT preparation, military recruitment, and exposure to programs in band, cheer, arts, and choir. Organizers and partners, including the College Foundation of North Carolina, described the event as one of the largest of its kind in the state, with educators, college presidents, deans, and recruiters all in attendance to guide students through the transition to higher education.

The Raleigh event is part of a broader, growing effort to expand access to HBCUs at a time when such initiatives face increased scrutiny nationwide. The Alpha Phi Alpha-led fair builds on a longstanding mission to connect Black students and other underrepresented groups with institutions that have historically played a critical role in American higher education.

For colleges like Alabama State University, the Raleigh fair represents a key recruiting opportunity in a region where many students may not be familiar with out-of-state HBCUs.

Gregory Clark, the V.P. for Institutional Advancement and President of FAMU's National Alumni Association, said the event has proven to be an effective way to introduce North Carolina students to the school’s academic offerings and campus culture.

“A lot of students here haven’t heard much about Alabama State before they attend this fair,” Clark said. “But once we start talking about our business programs, internships, and the overall experience, you can see that interest build.”

Clark noted that the connections made at previous fairs have already led to increased enrollment.

“Last year, we met several students right here in Raleigh who are now freshmen at Alabama State,” he said. “A couple of them are thriving in the marching band, fully involved on campus, and doing exactly what we hoped they would—finding their place and succeeding.”

The fair also incorporated interactive elements designed to engage students and test their knowledge of HBCU history and culture. Trivia questions—such as how many HBCUs are located in North Carolina or where Martin Luther King Jr. attended college—were used to spark conversation and encourage deeper exploration of historically Black institutions.

The event follows a similar HBCU-focused initiative held earlier in March in Charlotte, where the National Coalition of 100 Black Women hosted a free college fair at First Baptist Church West. That gathering brought together students and families from across the region to explore post-secondary options, including four-year universities and trade schools, while also connecting them with local college and career planning organizations.

The growing network of outreach efforts aimed at strengthening the pipeline between North Carolina students and HBCUs across the country extends far beyond a single day. For students, it offers a chance to envision new possibilities; for colleges, it provides a direct line to prospective applicants; and for communities, it reinforces the enduring importance of HBCUs as engines of opportunity and advancement.

1850’s Photos Of Enslaved People Head Home From Harvard To SC

admin — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:03:00 +0000

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Descendants of a father and daughter featured in what are believed to be the first photographs taken of enslaved people say they are happy their family members are finally going back to South Carolina.

Harvard University turned the photos over to the International African American Museum in Charleston after a seven-year legal fight, the museum announced Wednesday.

The 1850 daguerreotypes, a precursor to modern-day photographs, are of an enslaved man named Renty, his daughter Delia and five others known as Jack, Drana, Alfred, Fassena and Jem. The photos were taken from several angles and the subjects were shirtless. The images were commissioned by a Harvard University biologist conducting racist research, which was used by slavery supporters before the Civil War.

The museum plans to preserve the daguerreotypes and display photos made from them to anchor an exhibit detailing the lives of the seven enslaved people from South Carolina.

Harvard was sued by Tamara Lanier, who said the man she calls “Papa Renty” was her great-great-great-grandfather. Lanier wanted the photos brought to the South Carolina museum because it is in the state where he was enslaved and the photos were taken, said Lanier’s attorney Joshua Koskoff.

“It’s almost spiritual they are coming home. They can breathe at the museum,” Koskoff said.

The legal fight between Lanier and Harvard wound through courts in Massachusetts before the two sides reached a deal in 2025. Harvard said it had always been eager to get the pictures to a museum but fought the lawsuit because Harvard couldn’t confirm Lanier was related to the people in the photos.

Lanier’s lawyer said Harvard made money off the photos by licensing the images.

“Slavery robbed Renty and Delia of their humanity. But it was Harvard who robbed them of their story,” Koskoff said.

The International African American Museum was recently built at Gadsden’s Wharf in downtown Charleston where almost half of all enslaved people brought to the U.S. first stepped foot in North America.

SE Raleigh Community Voices Concerns Over Lack Of Park Input

Jordan Meadows — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:13:00 +0000

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

Southeast Raleigh residents are calling out city officials over a series of long-planned parks bond projects that community members say are drifting away from their original vision.

At the center of the dispute are several initiatives tied to the South Park neighborhood, including the John P. “Top” Greene African American Cultural Center, the South Park Heritage Trail, Heritage Plaza, and Phase II of the John Chavis Memorial Park master plan. Residents who have worked on these projects for decades say a lack of transparency and limited public input now threaten both the projects’ integrity and their cultural significance.

“This was supposed to be the heart of the project,” one resident of Southeast

Raleigh said of Heritage Plaza. “It was meant to represent the endurance of those who’ve historically lived there, to remind people and give them an experience of what life was like earlier in this community.”

The conflict traces back to a 2007 neighborhood-led planning effort known as the South Park Heritage Walk Revitalization Strategy. Developed through the South Park-East Raleigh Neighborhood Association (SPERNA) and the Central Citizens Advisory Council, the plan aimed to preserve and highlight the history of the East Raleigh-South Park National Historic District—an area anchored by Shaw University and St. Augustine’s University.

By that time, the district had already been recognized as one of the most prominent historically Black residential areas in Raleigh, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Residents say the revitalization strategy was comprehensive, involving local artists, architects, engineers, and institutions such as North Carolina State University College of Design. The goal was cultural preservation—telling the stories of people and places that shaped the community.

“We were focusing on the stories of Southeast Raleigh,” one resident said. “It’s too big to be general—there needs to be a focus on this area.”

The South Park Archives initiative, first proposed in the late 1990s, was built and maintained by volunteers for years inside the cultural center. Programming and staffing were minimal, according to residents.

Despite those challenges, residents eventually helped secure millions in parks bond funding approved in 2022. Approximately $9 million was allocated for renovations and expansion of the Top Greene Cultural Center, with an additional $3 million designated for the South Park Heritage Trail.

Now, residents argue that the implementation phase has sidelined their input.

“The staff decided how the money would be spent to implement these projects without any community input,” one resident said. “We did all the work—designing the programs, building support, getting public buy-in—yet we’ve never had an opportunity to talk directly with city staff about how the money would actually be used.”

A key frustration is the structure of communication. Concerns must be routed through city staff before reaching administrators or elected officials, creating what some describe as a disconnect between the community and decision-makers.

According to residents, plans now include converting the Top Greene Cultural Center building’s primary meeting space into a recording studio—something they say was never requested or discussed publicly. They argue this would significantly reduce the room’s capacity and eliminate its use for exhibitions and community gatherings.

Other concerns include the removal of a kitchen stove, changes to exhibition space plans, and the elimination of a proposed memorial garden designed to educate visitors about the neighborhood’s history. Residents also worry these changes could undermine the facility’s financial sustainability by reducing its ability to host events and generate rental income.

Beyond any single project, residents say the issue reflects a broader pattern of stalled or incomplete initiatives. Some projects tied to the revitalization strategy have yet to begin, while others remain unfinished.

They also note that turnover on the City Council has created an additional challenge.

“Most of the current council members weren’t here when this started,” one resident said. “They’re not even aware that we’ve already done most of the planning work. We began this with NC State back in 2007 and completed the initial documentation by 2010.”

Some residents have begun reaching out directly to elected officials, including Jonathan Lambert-Melton, in an effort to pause current plans and reopen the process for public input.

“I actually facilitated a meeting with the City Manager, our staff working on the project, and [residents] for next week.” Council Member Melton said via email on Tuesday morning.

As the city moves forward with implementing its parks bond projects, the dispute highlights an ongoing tension between long-term community planning efforts and the realities of municipal decision-making.

‘History Is Repeating Itself’: Rep. Clyburn’s Call To Action

Ms. Jheri Worldwide — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:53:00 +0000

By Jheri Hardaway

Staff Writer

Monday night at Artspace in Raleigh, a palpable sense of history filled the air as Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC) took the stage to discuss his latest book, “The First Eight,” with a packed audience that included dignitaries and local leaders. The event began with a warm welcome from former Congresswoman Eva Clayton. Clyburn's message was not merely a historical recap, but a poignant and urgent warning about the current political landscape, drawing direct parallels between the post-Civil War Reconstruction era and today's challenges to voting rights.

He began by emphasizing the deep historical significance of North Carolina, particularly in Raleigh, noting that thirteen African American men had convened in 1865 for the State’s Constitutional Convention, following an initial conviction at their home church St. Paul AME Church. He singled out Bishop James Walker Hood as a “luminary participant” in this convention, highlighting Hood’s mission to establish the AME Zion church in North Carolina and his work with the Masons.

Clyburn then linked this historical moment to the broader national context, specifically the 15th Amendment, which became part of the Federal Constitution on March 30, 1870—exactly 156 years prior to his speaking yesterday. He noted that eight months later, South Carolina led the way by electing African American men to Congress, emphasizing the power of the newly secured right to vote. This historical groundwork set the stage for the core thesis of his talk and his book: the enduring importance of understanding and actively participating in the political process to safeguard hard-won rights.

Clyburn’s speech was less a typical book talk and more a compelling historical narrative with profound contemporary relevance. He argued that the pivotal moments in African American history following the Civil War—the 13th Amendment freeing the enslaved, the 14th guaranteeing due process and equal protection, and the 15th securing the vote—were met with fierce resistance, culminating in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln when he began to advocate for the right to vote for former slaves. Congressmen Clyburn asserted that it was the right for the negro vote that pushed John Wilkes Booth to take the life of President Lincoln.

He further illustrated the fragility of progress by highlighting how single votes shaped critical events during Reconstruction. Andrew Johnson’s acquittal during his impeachment trial, which preserved his presidency and allowed him to undermine Reconstruction efforts, hinged on a single vote. Similarly, the 1876 presidential election between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes was decided by a 15-person commission by a narrow 8-7 vote. This decision, which awarded the disputed 20 electoral votes to Hayes, led to the "Compromise of 1877" and the subsequent withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction and ushering in the oppressive Jim Crow era.

The most potent part of Clyburn's address came when he connected these historical events to the present day. He explicitly referenced pages 175 and 176 of his book, which describe the emergence of "creative devices" designed to disenfranchise Black voters after the end of Reconstruction. He forcefully argued that the contemporary debate over legislation like the "Save Act" is a direct prologue to this dark chapter, with current efforts to restrict voting echoing those from over a century ago. “If I were to rename it or put a timestamp on this book today, the subtitle would be different,” Clyburn said. “It would be 'The First Eight, whose lives and experiences shaped the nation and serve as a foretelling of today’s political condition.' We have to learn from this history, or we are bound to repeat it.”

He provided concrete statistics to underscore his point, noting that in 1880, South Carolina had approximately 91,000 votes cast by Black people. Ten years later, that number plummeted to around 13,000. He also pointed out that in 1880, South Carolina’s state legislature had 93 members, while in the 20 years following, that number dropped to zero. He warned that if legislation like the "Save Act" becomes law, the number of current members of the Legislative Black Caucus could dwindle rapidly, similar to the historical precedent following the end of Reconstruction. He noted that following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, which gutted Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, 30 states immediately changed their election laws to make it harder to register and vote, with North Carolina and South Carolina being among them with Voter ID laws.

When asked if history is repeating itself, Clyburn responded with a definitive "Yes," but added an important caveat: “Just because history repeats itself doesn’t mean the result will be the same. That’s why I wrote this stuff, for you to understand the dynamics…so we can build defenses.”

He emphasized that progress is only achieved through active participation, not just marching or protesting. Drawing an analogy to atomic energy, he argued that just as the energy from an atom is only useful when harnessed, the "energy" created by marches and protests is only effective when channeled into a "targeted" vote. He linked this to his own experiences, stating that while he spent time in jail marching, the time that really matters is "marching into that booth" to cast a vote.

Clyburn’s message was a clear call to action, urging the audience to remain vigilant, to learn from history, and to prioritize voting above all else. His speech served as a powerful reminder that progress is not guaranteed and that the struggle for equality and democratic representation is an ongoing generational battle. As he concluded, he left the audience with a stark warning: ignore these lessons at the nation’s peril, as the forces that sought to disenfranchise and oppress are still very much present and active today.

Henry Evans And The Birth Of Fayetteville’s First Church

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 13:10:00 +0000

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

In the late 18th century, Henry Evans, a free Black cobbler and Methodist preacher from Virginia, became one of the most influential religious figures in early Fayetteville.

Born around 1760 to free parents, Evans arrived in Fayetteville around 1780 while traveling to Charleston, South Carolina. Struck by the spiritual needs of the local Black community—many of whom were enslaved—he chose to remain in the town.

Evans’s early ministry was met with resistance: town authorities attempted to suppress his preaching, forcing him to hold services in secret and in remote areas of the surrounding sand-hills to avoid harassment and violence. Despite these obstacles, his message gained a devoted following. Over time, even white residents began to take notice of what they saw as positive changes in those who attended his services.

As his influence grew, opposition softened, and Evans was eventually permitted to preach openly within the town. By the turn of the 19th century, a modest structure had been built to house his congregation, marking the establishment of what is widely considered the first church within Fayetteville’s town limits. Black worshippers filled the main space, while white attendees occupied designated seating areas—though these distinctions increasingly blurred as attendance surged. Additional sheds were later constructed to accommodate the growing number of worshippers, including prominent visitors who sought out Evans’s sermons.

Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury, who visited the church several times, referred to it as the “African meeting house” in his journal, underscoring its significance.

Evans was described by contemporaries as deeply knowledgeable in scripture and committed to his ministry under difficult circumstances. According to later accounts, he risked his life multiple times to continue preaching, including dangerous crossings of the Cape Fear River.

Bishop William Capers, who encountered Evans near the end of his life, later called him “the father of the Methodist Church, white and Black, in Fayetteville, and the best preacher of his time in that quarter.”

After declining health forced Evans to step back from active preaching around 1806, he remained closely tied to the church. He lived in a small room behind the pulpit, continuing to serve as a spiritual presence until his death in September 1810.

In his will, he ensured that the church would continue after him, while also providing for his widow, who was allowed to remain in their living quarters for the rest of her life.

In Evans’s final appearance before his congregation, frail and near death, he delivered a farewell message emphasizing faith and perseverance by recalling the dangers he had faced in bringing the gospel to his community. His funeral drew one of the largest gatherings Fayetteville had seen at the time.

He was initially buried beneath the church. His remains were later moved to the grounds of Evans Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church, which now stands near the original site.

NC State Hires Former Wolfpack Player, Justin Gainey As Men’s Basketball Coach

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 18:10:00 +0000

(AP)—N.C. State moved quickly to hire one of its own to lead the Wolfpack men’s basketball program.

The school announced the hiring of Tennessee assistant coach and former Wolfpack player Justin Gainey as head coach on Tuesday. That came five days after the departure of Will Wade after one season for a second stint at LSU.

N.C. State had an agreement in place with the 49-year-old Gainey to start the week, then its board of trustees approved the deal in an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon to make the hiring official. The school will hold its introductory news conference Wednesday for Gainey, who signed a five-year deal.

“This university helped build me as a player and as a person,” Gainey said in a statement. “To now lead it as head coach is truly a full-circle moment.

“There’s a responsibility that comes with leading your alma mater, and I embrace it fully. We’re going to honor our tradition, represent this university the right way, and build a program our Wolfpack family can be proud of.”

Athletic director Boo Corrigan passed on hiring a search firm to assist on his second coaching search in as many years, promising to hire someone who “wants to be at N.C. State for a long time.” Ultimately, that meant bringing in an instate native and Wolfpack guard from 1996-2000.

“Not only are we welcoming back one of our own, but we are welcoming a tough, tenacious and experienced coach who I am confident is the right fit for our program and will continue to position the Pack for success on the national stage,” Corrigan said in a statement.

N.C. State also talked with Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz, who guided the Billikens to the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament. Schertz and athletic director Chris May both told local reporters that Schertz had talked with N.C. State, though Schertz posted a statement on social media Sunday saying he was returning.

Gainey served as the Volunteers’ associate head coach under Rick Barnes since the 2022-23 season, when he also took over as the team’s defensive coordinator.

Defense was a key piece of Tennessee’s run to the Elite Eight for three straight seasons, with the Volunteers ranking third, third and 14th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metrics.

Gainey started his coaching career at N.C. State as an administrative coordinator and later as director of basketball operations. He was also an assistant at Marquette, Arizona, Santa Clara, Appalachian State and Elon.

Gainey inherits a program with tradition highlighted by winning national titles in 1974 and 1983 — the latter being the famed “Cardiac Pack” run helmed by the late Jim Valvano — as well as an unlikely to run to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title followed by the Final Four just two years ago.

Still, consistent success has been tricky to maintain.

The remarkable 2024 run under Kevin Keatts marked the program’s first wins in the NCAA Tournament since a Sweet 16 appearance in 2015 under Mark Gottfried, with the Wolfpack missing five of seven tournaments and experiencing a pair of first-round exits in 2018 and 2023. Keatts was fired after the Wolfpack crashed to 12-19 following the Final Four run.

Wade’s bravado-filled arrival last year included promises of a “reckoning” for the ACC and nationally. N.C. State started 18-6 before collapsing, with a First Four loss to Texas sending the Wolfpack into the offseason with eight losses in 10 games.

Then came Wade’s abrupt departure, exactly two weeks after he proclaimed he was determined to win big with the Wolfpack amid speculation about a possible LSU return.

ICE Eyes Multiple NC Site For Migrant Detention Centers

Jordan Meadows — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:45:00 +0000

The current Rivers Correctional Institute in Winton, NC is closed but is actively maintained, according to its owner The GEO Group. (Aaron Sanchez-Guerra / WUNC News)

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

A growing national debate over immigration detention has found a focal point in eastern North Carolina, where federal officials and private prison operators are exploring new sites for expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.

The long-shuttered Rivers Correctional Institution in Hertford County, a 257-acre private prison complex, could soon be repurposed into a detention center for immigrants awaiting deportation. The facility, owned by The GEO Group, closed in 2021 after the Biden administration ended federal contracts with private prisons, citing dangerous conditions that included violence, contraband, and reports of inmate sexual abuse.

Newly released documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union through a Freedom of Information Act request indicate that the company is in negotiations with ICE to reopen the site as a roughly 1,300-bed detention center, part of a broader federal effort to expand immigration detention capacity nationwide.

That expansion effort is backed by significant federal investment, including $45 billion approved by Congress last year to scale up detention infrastructure. As a result, North Carolina has emerged as a key target, with multiple cities and rural communities under consideration for new or expanded ICE operations.

In Hertford County, the proposal has drawn both support and opposition. The closure of Rivers in 2021 resulted in approximately 300 job losses in a region grappling with population decline, and some local officials and residents have expressed interest in reopening the facility to restore employment opportunities.

Those concerns have sparked an unusual wave of public protest in the small town of Ahoskie. Dozens of residents recently gathered at the intersection of First and Academy Streets. The protest, organized in part by local advocacy groups such as The Cultivator, reflects a broader grassroots campaign aimed at preventing the facility’s reopening. Nearby residents, including those from Murfreesboro, have voiced similar objections.

The history of the Rivers facility adds another layer of complexity to the debate. Built on land that was once a cotton plantation belonging to the Meherrin Indian Tribe, the site still contains antebellum-era graves of the Vann family, a legacy that researchers say symbolically ties past systems of exploitation to present-day incarceration practices. The prison previously operated as a Criminal Alien Requirement facility, housing noncitizens serving federal sentences, and its potential transformation into an ICE detention center would mark a continuation of that role under a different legal framework.

In Greensboro, ACLU documents identified the city as a potential site for another detention center. The proposal, submitted by the private firm The Baptiste Group, would convert the former American Hebrew Academy, a 100-acre boarding school campus, into a large-scale detention facility.

In response, city leaders amended zoning regulations to impose stricter requirements on detention facilities, including a mandate that such sites be located at least 2,500 feet away from neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, and parks.

In the rapidly growing town of Cary, the debate has centered less on detention facilities and more on ICE’s potential administrative expansion. Reports that the federal government had leased office space in the area triggered widespread public concern and protests. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht has stated that the town lacks legal authority to prevent such expansion and has cautioned against drawing attention that could invite further federal involvement.

Similar uncertainty surrounds reported plans for a new ICE office in Charlotte, where lease agreements through the U.S. General Services Administration suggest a growing federal presence.

Elsewhere in the state, ICE is reportedly considering additional detention capacity, including a warehouse in Concord, outside Charlotte, that could hold up to 1,500 detainees. The Alamance County Detention Center previously housed ICE detainees until Sheriff Terry Johnson ended the agreement in late 2025, though negotiations are underway to potentially resume cooperation at a nearby former state prison. The New Hanover County Detention Center continues to hold detainees through an arrangement with the U.S. Marshals Service, illustrating the patchwork nature of detention operations across North Carolina.

Beyond dedicated facilities, ICE maintains a network of field offices in Charlotte, Cary, and Hendersonville, each equipped with temporary “hold rooms” that have housed detainees in recent years. Data from the Deportation Data Project shows that these short-term detention spaces were actively used throughout much of 2025.

Additionally, more than 25 local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE, allowing officers to enforce federal immigration laws and, in some cases, detain individuals on behalf of the agency. These partnerships were further reinforced by the passage of House Bill 318 in 2025, which mandates increased cooperation between local sheriffs and federal immigration authorities.

AI Cameras Have Quietly Appeared In Thousands Of American Cities

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:26:06 +0000

THE CONVERSATION - For decades, cars dictated urban planning in the United States.

Few could have predicted that they would one day also double as nodes for surveillance.

In thousands of towns and cities across the U.S., automatic license plate readers have been installed at major intersections, bridges and highway off-ramps.

These camera-based systems capture the license plate data of passing vehicles, along with images of the vehicle and time stamps. More recently, these systems are using artificial intelligence to create a vast, searchable database that can be integrated with other law enforcement data repositories.

As a scholar of technology policy and data governance, I see the expansion of automatic license plate readers as a source of deep concern. It’s happening as government authorities are seeking ways to target immigrant and transgender communities, are already using AI to monitor protests, and are considering deploying AI systems for mass surveillance.

Eyes on the road

Using cameras to track license plates dates to the 1970s, when the U.K. was embroiled in a long-simmering conflict with the Irish Republican Army.

The Met, London’s police force, developed a system that used closed-circuit television cameras to monitor and record the license plates of vehicles entering and exiting major roads.

The system and its successors were seen as useful crime fighting tools. Over the next two decades, they expanded to other cities in the U.K. and around the world. In 1998, U.S. Customs and Border Protection implemented this technology. By the 21st century, it had started appearing in cities across the U.S.

There are different ways for a jurisdiction to implement these systems, but local governments usually sign contracts with private companies that provide the hardware and service.

These companies often entice authorities with free trials of surveillance equipment and promises of free access to their data in ways that bypass local oversight laws.

AI thrown into the mix

Recently, AI has been incorporated into these camera systems, significantly increasing their reach.

The vehicle information that’s captured is typically stored in the cloud, creating a massive web of data repositories. If a camera collects information from a suspect’s car or truck – say, one also listed in the National Crime Information Center – AI can flag it and send an instant alert to local law enforcement.

In fact, that’s a selling point of Flock Safety, one of the biggest providers of automatic license plate readers. The company uses infrared cameras to capture images of vehicles. AI then analyzes the data to identify subjects and quickly alert local authorities.

On the surface, automatic license plate readers seem like a logical way to fight crime. More information about the whereabouts of suspects can potentially help law enforcement. And why worry about cameras if you’re following the law?

A spokesperson for Flock told The Conversation that their technology has helped reduce crime, including violent crime, in cities that use their cameras, such as San Francisco and Oakland.

But there are few peer-reviewed studies on their effectiveness. Those that exist find little evidence that they’ve led to reductions in violent crime rates, though they seem to be helpful in solving some crimes, like car thefts.

Furthermore, installation and maintenance are costly.

For example, Johnson City, Tennessee, signed a 10-year, US$8 million contract with Flock in 2025. Richmond, Virginia, paid over $1 million to the company between October 2024 and November 2025 and recently extended its contract, despite opposition from some residents.

Erosion of civil liberties in plain sight

The technology seems to highlight the pitfalls of what scholars call “technosolutionism,” the belief that complex issues like crime, poverty and climate change can be solved by technology.

Even more disquieting, to me, is the fact that these camera systems have created a mass location tracking infrastructure knitted together by artificial intelligence.

The U.S. doesn’t have a federal law like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation that meaningfully limits the collection, retention, sale or sharing of location and mobility data.

As a result, data gathered through surveillance infrastructure in the U.S. can circulate with limited transparency or accountability.

License plate readers can easily be accessed or repurposed beyond their original goals of managing traffic, meting out fines or catching fugitives. All it takes is a shift in enforcement priorities – or a new definition of what counts as a crime – for the original purpose of these cameras to recede from view.

Civil liberties groups and digital rights organizations have been sounding the alarm about these cameras for over a decade.

In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union published a report titled “You are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used To Record Americans’ Movements.” And the Electronic Frontier Foundation has decried them as “street-level surveillance.”

A counter-camera movement emerges

The promise of these cameras was simple: more data, less crime.

But what followed has been murkier: more data, and a significant expansion of power over the public.

Without robust legal safeguards, this data can possibly be used to target political opposition, facilitate discriminatory policing or chill constitutionally protected activities.

This has already happened during the current administration’s aggressive deportation efforts. Automatic license plate reader databases were shared with federal immigration agencies to monitor immigrant communities. Recently, Customs and Border Protection was granted access to over 80,000 Flock cameras, which have also been used to surveil protests.

Then there’s reproductive health care. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, there were fears that people traveling across state lines to get an abortion could potentially be identified through automatic license plate reader databases. In Texas, authorities accessed Flock’s surveillance data as part of an abortion investigation in 2025.

Flock told NPR in February 2026 that cities control how this information is shared: “Each Flock customer has sole authority over if, when, and with whom information is shared.” The company noted that it has made efforts to “strengthen sharing controls, oversight and audit capabilities within the system.” But NPR also reported that many city officials around the U.S. didn’t realize how widely the data was being shared.

In response, some states have sought to regulate the technology.

Washington state lawmakers are deliberating the Driver Privacy Act. The legislation would prohibit agencies from using the surveillance technology for immigration investigations and enforcement, and from collecting data around certain health care facilities. Protests would also be shielded from surveillance.

Meanwhile, grassroots initiatives such as DeFlock have also emerged.

DeFlock’s online platform documents the spread of automatic license plate reader networks in order to help communities resist their deployment. The movement frames these systems not merely as traffic technologies, but also as linchpins of an expanding government data dragnet – one that demands stronger democratic oversight and community consent.

Durham Tenants Unionize To Fight For Repairs, Respect

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:04:00 +0000

Residents of Willard Street Apartments and nearby Ashton Place in downtown Durham formed tenant unions Thursday to fight against what they contend are poor management and shoddy building maintenance practices. (Photo: Greg Childress/NC Newsline)

NC NEWSLINE - Residents of Willard Street Apartments and nearby Ashton Place in downtown Durham formed tenant unions Thursday to fight against what they contend are poor management and shoddy building maintenance practices.

The newly formed Willard Street United and Ashton Seniors in Action tenant unions held a joint press conference to demand that their shared landlord formally recognize the unions and commit to quarterly meet-and-confer sessions.

“All we’re asking for is more clear, transparent communication, and security for the ladies,” said Bill Thompson, an Ashton Place tenant.

Both apartment complexes are owned by Downtown Home Improvement Corporation Inc. (DHIC), a Raleigh-based nonprofit affordable housing developer, and managed by Community Management Corporation.

Yolanda Winstead, president of DHIC, said the nonprofit is “committed to open and ongoing dialogue with residents.”

“We welcome opportunities to listen, learn, and work together on issues affecting the community,” Winstead said in an email to NC Newsline.

“Representatives of any association that residents choose to form” are welcome to take part in residents’ meetings, she said, “as members of the tenants’ union did earlier this month.”

During Thursday’s press conference, tenants from both apartment buildings shared longstanding grievances against DHIC and the buildings management company. They complained the management company is slow to make repairs, and when they do, it is usually poorly done.

Cleanliness and safety are also concerns, the tenants said.

“We all worked our long lives to get to where we are and to live safe and clean,” said Cynthia Hoskins, a Willard Street Apartment resident. “We shouldn’t have to worry about whether this is gonna be fixed or whether that’s gonna be fixed.”

Debra Davies, an Ashton Place resident, said that if she hears management say they’ll “look into it” one more time, she’s going to scream.

“It’s been a battle to get the basic things done,” Davies said. “We’re not asking for huge issues. It’s just the basics and that’s what we’re having problems with.”

Davies contends shoddy maintenance contributed to her son’s death.

As NC Newsline previously reported, Davies’ son, Jason Pulliam, died in an incident in the apartment building after suffering heart failure. An electronic door to a laundry malfunctioned, which slowed tenants’ ability to render aid, Davies contends. When emergency responders arrived, it was too late to save Pulliam.

The new unions will be part of the North Carolina Tenants Union, which is a statewide union of local unions.

C.R. Clark with the Triangle Tenant Union, which is also part of the state union, helped tenants organize.

“They have spent years suffering mismanagement, disrepair, deterioration, mistreatment by staff and ongoing threats to their health and safety in these two publicly subsidized buildings,” Clark said.

Nick MacLeod, who leads the statewide union, said the group is organizing similar unions in 15 buildings across the state.

“Tenants are forming these unions to protect themselves and their families from dangerous conditions caused by landlords’ lack of repairs, dramatically rising rents and unprecedented displacement pressure,” MacLeod said.

MacLeod noted that the state’s landlord-tenant laws lack basic protections. He said tenants are sometimes forced to pay rent even when living in dangerous, uninhabitable conditions, and sometimes face evictions without cause and “rent gouging” without recourse

“By working together with their neighbors and leveraging their political and economic power, tenants can win the repairs they need and the stability they and their families deserve,” MacLeod said.

Behind the Scenes: Black Issues Forum Bridging the Gap in Autism Advocacy

Ms. Jheri Worldwide — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:51:00 +0000

By Jheri Hardaway

Staff Writer

RTP, NC - PBS NC Black Issues Forum in it’s 40th year continues to do the work tackling important topics as a fixture of national Black media. We were given behind the scenes access on an essential conversation on neurodiversity, specifically focusing on the landscape of autism support within North Carolina. Hosted by Kenia Thompson, the segment featured insights from Nicole Harris of the Autism Society of North Carolina and Felicia Williams-Brown of Pioneering Change Consulting. The discussion pulled back the curtain on the triumphs and systemic hurdles facing families today. The numbers and the need were quite striking. North Carolina is currently home to approximately 186,000 individuals living with autism. While the Autism Society helps more than 40,000 families receive services annually, a significant gap remains. While 67% of those diagnosed are receiving some form of service, the remaining third of the population highlights a pressing need for expanded reach and resources.

The conversation, available via YouTube on PBS NC this Friday, emphasized that "awareness" is only the first step; the true goal is providing comprehensive support for: Families, navigating the initial diagnosis and long-term care. Teachers, equipping educators with the tools for inclusive classrooms. Finally, communities, fostering environments where neurodivergent individuals can thrive.

One of the most enlightening revelations from the forum was the intersection of race and developmental diagnosis. While autism is a distinct developmental disability, data show that 38% of people with autism also receive an intellectual disability diagnosis. Within the Black community, that number jumps to 50%. Panelists noted that determinations often come from clinical observation, a process that can be susceptible to inherent bias. This underscores the necessity for early intervention and accurate, culturally competent assessments to ensure that Black children are not being mislabeled or underserved.

For those seeking help, the forum highlighted several vital lifelines:

* CDSA (Children’s Developmental Services Agency): The primary point for early intervention referrals.

* Autism Resource Specialists: These experts provide free guidance to help families identify exactly how the community can best support their specific needs.

* Therapeutic Pillars: The importance of a "wrap-around" approach involving speech therapy, occupational therapy, parent coaching, and consistent social support.

The takeaway from the Black Issues Forum was clear: support is available, but advocacy and systemic change are required to ensure that access is equitable for every North Carolinian. Additionally, the importance of Black Issues Forum for making space for this conversation and moving forward a focus on Black mental health and accessibility.

NCDHHS Secretary Pays A Visit To Eastern North Carolina

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:48:00 +0000

RALEIGH — North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai, and NCDHHS Deputy Secretary for Opportunity and Well-Being Michael Leighs, traveled to eastern North Carolina this week to meet with leadership and participate in discussions with the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services, Chowan County Department of Social Services (DSS) and ECU Health Chowan Hospital.

During this trip, Secretary Sangvai discussed the current state of North Carolina Medicaid amid state budget uncertainty, impacts of federal legislation H.R. 1 on the state’s Medicaid program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and implementation of the Rural Health Transformation Program.

Dare County Health and Human Services

Secretary Sangvai began his trip the afternoon of Thursday, March 26, where he met with Social Services staff at the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services in Manteo, North Carolina. There, he spoke with staff members, highlighting the valued leadership of the county and their work to cultivate services that best meet the needs of the North Carolinians they serve.

During his visit, Dare County officials discussed the evolving needs of their community. Approximately 24% of permanent residents in Dare County are adults aged 65 and older. They discussed the ongoing challenges of serving an aging and growing population, particularly with the implementation of Medicaid and SNAP changes required by federal legislation H.R. 1.

Under the new federal legislation, Medicaid expansion and SNAP beneficiaries face expanded work requirements. In addition, the Medicaid expansion population will be subject to more frequent eligibility redeterminations. These changes create additional obstacles for rural populations and areas with unique geography such as Dare County to receive these essential benefits. In order to implement the federal changes, there will be increased administrative burden on county departments of health and human services across North Carolina.

Dare County Health and Human Services staff are continuously working to provide comprehensive care despite staff turnover and amidst challenges like limited access to health care, including mental health and substance use services. County staff expressed excitement for opportunities to improve automation with the integration of new technology that will improve the function of services.

Dare is one of the 11 counties that will go live in PATH NC in April 2026 for Intake and Assessments as well as Ongoing Case Management modules, meaning all 100 counties will now be live in PATH NC for Intake and Assessments. These 11 are the first counties in the state to onboard into PATH NC for Ongoing Case Management.

“County DSS agencies are vital to the areas they serve and ensure their neighbors and communities get the necessary services and resources they need to thrive,” said Secretary Sangvai. “I am grateful to our county social services staff whose dedication is critical in our mission to improve the health and well-being of all North Carolinians.”

Chowan County Department of Social Services

Following his visit in Dare County, Secretary Sangvai travelled to Edenton, North Carolina, on Friday, March 27, to meet with Chowan County DSS staff. During the visit, he spoke with county staff on NCDHHS’ priorities supporting children and families, and the potential for operational uncertainties in the coming years from federal policy changes to SNAP and Medicaid in H.R. 1.

Secretary Sangvai and county staff also discussed impacts to NC Medicaid if the NC General Assembly funding shortfall continues. The North Carolina General Assembly must allocate $319 million to fund this year’s NC Medicaid program. Without this funding, the program is projected to run out of money before the end of the fiscal year, putting health care access for more than 3 million North Carolinians at risk. Funding impacts at the state level are separate from those at the federal level.

Chowan County DSS staff also discussed challenges facing their community, including staff retention and training, and ongoing innovative solutions they have implemented successfully. Notably, Chowan County DSS offers flexible hours to help staff perform efficiently and encourages staff to collaborate with community stakeholders to develop resources for their clients. These efforts have helped stabilize and support the workload for county staff.

Secretary Sangvai also provided Chowan DSS updates on PATH NC, the modernized child welfare information system that equips DSS staff with real-time data and decision-making tools to better protect and serve the children and families in their counties. For smaller counties like Chowan, PATH NC allows staff balancing multiple responsibilities to access timely data and resources, identify trends and work seamlessly with neighboring counties through a centralized data system.

“We launched PATH NC with the goal to create better outcomes for children and families in North Carolina,” said Secretary Sangvai. “Over the last year, PATH NC has successfully launched in a majority of North Carolina’s counties, and we are eager to continue our collaboration to build a stronger child welfare system across the state.

ECU Health Chowan Hospital

Secretary Sangvai concluded his trip Friday with a visit to ECU Health Chowan Hospital for a tour of their facilities and a roundtable discussion on the state of rural health care and the unique challenges facing rural hospitals.

During this stop, Secretary Sangvai toured the Emergency Department and Outpatient Services Center at ECU Health Chowan to see and learn more about how the ECU Health system addresses workforce and retention challenges and the successes they've achieved with patients in the community.

Throughout his conversations with staff at ECU Health Chowan Hospital, Secretary Sangvai highlighted the positive impacts of public health partnerships as well as the persistent need to strengthen and retain North Carolina’s rural workforce. NCDHHS has expanded loan repayment programs for nurses and mental health professionals who practice in rural communities.

Secretary Sangvai also discussed North Carolina’s participation in the Rural Health Transformation Program. North Carolina received $213M in RHTP funding to improve the health and well-being of more than 3 million people who live in rural communities in North Carolina.

“Our goal is to optimize the funding awarded by our federal partners to North Carolina to implement the Rural Health Transformation Program,” said Secretary Sangvai. “We will continue to collaborate with counties and stakeholders as we work together to address the growing needs of the nearly 3 million residents living in rural areas. Together, we will strengthen and improve outcomes for our rural communities in support of a healthier North Carolina for all.”

Going To An HBCU Has Been Linked To Better Health For Black Students

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:00:00 +0000

THE GUARDIAN - Attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) as a young adult may be linked with better later-life cognitive outcomes for Black Americans, according to a recent study. The authors sampled 1,978 Black American adults who attended college between 1940 and 1980 (35% attended an HBCU), and who attended a high school in a state with an HBCU. The conclusion? There may be a correlation between collegiate environment and long-term wellness.

During that time frame of attendance, two major policy implementations shaped schooling in the country: first, in 1952, Brown v Board of Education ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional; and second was the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which barred racial discrimination in school.

Dr Marilyn Thomas, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, was interested in whether or not the cohort would show different outcomes between HBCU graduates and graduates of predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The study mined differences between Black students who attended college during a time when they were largely prevented from attending white colleges and Black students who attended college after segregation was outlawed.

The study, published last month in Jama Network Open with co-authors from Rutgers University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Columbia University, Boston University and Harvard University, found that differences in when or how participants were exposed to “state-sanctioned racialized education policies” had an impact on later life.

“HBCU attendees had better cognition across all three of those different time periods,” Thomas said. At age 62, Black adults who had attended an HBCU had better memory and cognitive function than those who attended a predominantly white institution (PWI).

Study participants who attended HBCUs also tended to have different early life experiences, leading to some “pretty striking” characteristics, Thomas said, including receiving encouragement to attend school.

“Participants who attended HBCUs were more likely, for example, to have mothers or female caregivers that had a college education,” she said. “They were also more likely to have reported being shown affection when they were growing up, love and affection.”

Thomas has been interested in studying the impacts of an HBCU experience since the early part of her career. Her dissertation looked at the association between structural racism and various outcomes. For the last several years, she has looked at various forms of racial experiences or exposures to racism and a variety of health outcomes that are correlated with the stress regulation system, like hypertension, allostatic load, which is the cumulative measure of stress on the body, telomere lengths, which are associated with ageing and age-related diseases, and accelerated aging.

“It didn’t matter what form of racism I was looking at, whether it was everyday racism or country-level anti-Black bias – the beginning of my work showed that exposure to racism was associated with worse health,” she said.

Higher educational attainment is associated with an ability to mitigate some of the impacts of exposure to racism – keeping the amount of exposure to chronic racism the same, those with higher education had better health outcomes than those with lower levels of education. Thomas decided to look at that association and shifted her scholarship towards “finding sources of resilience against the negative or adverse effects of racism on later life health for Black adults”.

The study was “exploratory”, Thomas said, and one of the first of its kind – most studies have looked at the effect of years at schooling on cognition, while this one specifically looked at the environment of the school.

“There’s a growing body of evidence demonstrating that those years of schooling differently impact people by race,” Thomas said. Instead of measuring only the number of years of collegiate attendance, this study measured whether or not any attendance at an HBCU was impactful.

“There are people in the sample that could have attended an HBCU the first year of college and then switched to a PWI,” Thomas said. “Our question was, ‘Is any exposure to an HBCU going to have a later life impact on your cognition?’ And the answer was yes.”

As an exploratory study, it didn’t look at certain nuances like, for instance, someone who attended a predominantly white institution for undergraduate school, but then attended an HBCU for graduate school. Thomas believes additional analysis can unpack the difference for people with distinct trajectories.

Thomas said the study was “a first step”.

“What’s really important about this finding is that it suggests that, yes, culturally affirming spaces actually can help promote and protect cognitive health,” she said. “It’s even more than that because it doesn’t just demonstrate that it’s protective against cognitive health, but the benefits to this exposure last well beyond graduation – these are people at mean age 62. These benefits are long lasting.”

For non-scientists and non-academics, studies can sometimes be opaque. Thomas hopes that even people who are not in the research world glean from the study the importance of preserving and supporting spaces like HBCUs.

“There’s an attack right now on DEI programs, promoting diversity, bringing people in from different backgrounds and different ideologies – all that is under scrutiny right now,” she said. “But what this [study] does is it shows us actually when you do create environments where socially marginalized people feel more welcome or feel more affirmed, they live healthier lives.”

Gov. Stein Hosts Women’s History Month Event, Highlights Economic Opportunity for Women

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:30:00 +0000

(RALEIGH) Governor Josh Stein hosted a reception at the North Carolina Executive Mansion to celebrate Women's History Month. Governor Stein also hosted a roundtable to discuss the North Carolina Council for Women's latest report and share his commitment to promoting economic opportunity for all North Carolinians.

“Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the women who have shaped our state and commit to building a future where every woman has a chance to succeed,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Investing in women's economic security strengthens communities across the state."

“The North Carolina Council for Women is proud to highlight both the progress we’ve made and the work that remains,” said Annette Taylor, Chair of the NC Council for Women. “This report demonstrates the importance of removing barriers to economic opportunity and ensuring women across our state have access to the resources they need to succeed.”

“We’ve made some progress, but there’s more work to do to achieve equal pay for equal work in North Carolina," said NC Department of Administration Secretary Gabriel J. Esparza. "Women are essential providers – and sometimes the only earner – for North Carolina families. Closing the gender pay gap will help strengthen families and communities across our state."

“North Carolina has never been short on talented women leaders. I’m proud to stand on the shoulders of those extraordinary women who led our state with courage and conviction — often without recognition and always without enough support,” said Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch. “This Women’s History Month, we can honor their legacy by opening more doors for the next generation of women leaders, because our state is strongest when every voice has a seat at the table.”

“This month is about honoring the women who came before us, but it’s also about asking what we do with that legacy, and how we carry it forward,” said Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt.

The Council for Women, housed within the NCDOA’s Division for Women and Youth, advises the Governor, General Assembly, and state agencies on issues impacting women. Through research, advocacy, and grants, the Council works to drive policies and promote education, safety, health, and social and economic justice for the women of North Carolina. The North Carolina Council for Women’s latest report, Status of Women in North Carolina: Investing in Economic Opportunity, explores disparities in access to child care and barriers to women’s economic security. The report recommends policy and programmatic changes, such as addressing the gender pay gap to create better outcomes for women and families across the state.

Textbooks vs. Technology: State Leaders Grapple With N.C.’s Lack Of Teachers

Jordan Meadows — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:28:00 +0000

Screenshot

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

Lawmakers on the North Carolina Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee spent Tuesday morning grappling with how best to measure student success, modernize curriculum, and address challenges in the state’s teacher pipeline, with members raising pointed questions about both instructional methods and long-term outcomes.

A recurring theme throughout the meeting was how students are being taught, particularly in early grades.

Rep. David Mills of Union County suggested the state may need to revisit more traditional approaches to instruction.

“We should take a look at going back to textbooks in k-5. I think we have too much choice and flexibility in content…what the concrete vetting of what thinking behind these things are,” Mills said.

But others pushed back on the idea that traditional tools alone reflect how students learn today.

Sen. Gladys A. Robinson of Guilford County questioned whether current reforms align with modern learning styles and national trends.

“Kids aren’t using textbooks. They’re using models and machines, that’s how they learn. I know my grandchildren use all the technology, and that’s how they’re learning. What is the national trend… you’re comparing the recent math proficiency scores with—relative to what?” Robinson said.

Sen. Robinson also raised concerns about implementation, asking, “Where will teachers get the preparation necessary to learn the new curriculum and skills being implemented in the math courses?”

State education officials said districts will have time to adjust, pointing to face-to-face and hybrid options over two full years to allow school systems to develop plans and train teachers on what they described as a “crosswalk,” a tool designed to help educators understand where and how standards are changing across grade levels.

Officials from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction acknowledged that while test scores show some improvement, there is still significant room for growth.

“In mathematics, NC is essentially within the pack of the states—slightly above in 8th grade math. In all aspects, we have potential to grow,” said State Superintendent Mo Green.

Still, lawmakers questioned how those gains are being measured.

Rep. Hugh Blackwell of Burke County raised concerns about relying on year-to-year comparisons of different student groups, noting that broader trends may tell a different story about readiness over time. He pointed to the need to examine outcomes across entire cohorts of students, suggesting that current data reveals declining college readiness the longer students “remain in the system”.

Blackwell also pressed officials on expectations for student achievement in reading.

“Should we expect two thirds of students to be proficient in reading?” he asked. Education officials acknowledged that scores could be improved but did not offer definitive answers during the meeting.

In addition to curriculum and performance, lawmakers also heard a proposal aimed at addressing the state’s ongoing teacher shortage. The organization BEST NC presented its TeachReadyNC plan, which would create up to 3,000 teacher apprenticeships across the state. The initiative is designed to provide structured, paid, on-the-job training for college graduates entering the profession, rather than placing them directly into classrooms under emergency or alternative licenses.

“This could be up to 3,000 teacher apprenticeships for the state of North Carolina, converting people who normally would come in under emergency license without any teacher preparation, instead entering through an apprenticeship of at least one year where they’re learning how to become a teacher for a year before jumping into that deep end of the pool,” said Brenda Berg of BEST NC.

The proposal comes as North Carolina continues to rely heavily on alternatively licensed teachers.

The meeting highlighted a central tension facing state education leaders: how to balance evolving classroom practices with measurable outcomes, while ensuring teachers are adequately prepared to meet changing demands.

Applications Open for Goldman Sachs One Million Black in Business Cohort

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:45:10 +0000

RALEIGH — Applications are now open for the Fall 2026 cohort of the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business program, a free initiative designed to help sole proprietors expand their businesses and drive economic growth in their communities.

The program aims to equip entrepreneurs with the tools, resources, and connections needed to transform business potential into measurable growth. Open to sole proprietors across the country, the initiative specifically supports business owners committed to creating jobs, opportunities, and long-term economic impact.

Eligible applicants must operate as sole proprietors with no full-time employees, have generated at least $25,000 in revenue over the past 12 months, and have maintained a revenue-generating business for a minimum of one year.

Participants selected for the program will take part in a 12-week online business education curriculum, paired with in-person learning opportunities hosted by Goldman Sachs, with all travel expenses covered. In addition to coursework, participants will gain access to a national network of fellow entrepreneurs and receive guidance from strategic advisors focused on scaling and sustainability.

Organizers say the program is part of a broader effort to invest in Black women entrepreneurs and strengthen pathways to business ownership and economic mobility.

Applications are currently open, and interested applicants are encouraged to apply soon.

Governor Stein Outlines Priorities to Support Rural North Carolinians at NC Rural Summit

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:19:09 +0000

(RALEIGH) Today Governor Josh Stein joined the NC Rural Center’s 2026 Rural Summit to highlight his commitment to investing in the infrastructure and resources North Carolina’s rural communities need to thrive. Governor Stein also marked the third anniversary since North Carolina passed Medicaid expansion, which has provided more than 720,000 North Carolinians, including 250,000 rural North Carolinians, with affordable health care.

“Our state is home to more than 3.5 million rural North Carolinians, the second-largest rural population in the country,” said Governor Josh Stein. “In North Carolina, where you come from should never limit how far you can go. We must strengthen infrastructure, including broadband, expand access to affordable health care, and invest in workforce development so that rural North Carolina is part of the state’s success story.”

Governor Stein is committed to investing in rural North Carolina. This week, Governor Stein visited Sampson County for his second of a series of Rural Listening Sessions. Earlier this month, the Governor kicked off his Rural Listening Tour, where he and cabinet secretaries are traveling throughout the state to meet with community leaders to hear their concerns and priorities for strengthening rural communities. The tour represents the Stein administration's whole-of-government approach to rural development. In the coming weeks and months, cabinet secretaries will host listening sessions across the state, focusing on health care, economic development and jobs, infrastructure, and more. Click here to learn more about upcoming Rural Listening Sessions.

Last month, Governor Stein and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced more than $472 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in 66 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. These funds will help support healthy cities and towns by upgrading aging water infrastructure to better withstand storms and improve communities’ drinking water systems. In December, Governor Stein also announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved North Carolina’s proposal to bring more than $300 million in high-speed internet projects to homes and communities across the state, primarily in rural areas, through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

In December, Governor Stein and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) secured $213 million from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through the Rural Health Transformation Program to improve health care access for the more than 3.5 million people living in rural communities. These funds will support more than 400 rural health care facilities and invest in strengthening the rural health care workforce through rural residency programs, incentives, and innovative career pathways. Earlier this week, Governor Stein joined the groundbreaking ceremony for AdventHealth Weaverville’s new hospital. The new hospital will create 1,300 jobs and provide a closer hospital option for those living in Madison and Yancey counties.

North Carolina’s electoral future may hinge on rural Black voters who feel ignored by Democrats

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:24:27 +0000

NASHVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Ricky Brinkley has lived in rural North Carolina nearly all of his 65 years, and he likes it “out in the county,” past the street lights and bustle of the small towns that carpet the landscape.

But the former truck driver can feel left out when elections roll around in this battleground state.

“People don’t come out like they should and ask you how you feel about things,” Brinkley said while he manned the counter at his daughter’s beauty supply store down the street from the Nashville courthouse. “You want somebody to vote, but you don’t want to do nothing to get the vote. No, it don’t work that way.”

Brinkley is among the rural Black residents who Democrats have often failed to mobilize as they try to dent Republican advantages here. It’s an urgent demographic puzzle for the party, which is normally strong with Black voters but tends to fall short in rural areas.

“People want to look at the word ‘rural’ in North Carolina and equate it to the word ‘white,’” said state party chair Anderson Clayton, a 28-year-old who won her job three years ago promising to expand the party beyond cities. “In my vision of a Democratic Party, when you talk about reaching out to rural voters, you are talking about rural Black voters.”

The Rev. James Gailliard, a former state lawmaker who leads a large Black congregation in Rocky Mount, put it even more bluntly.

“You don’t win this state in Durham,” Gailliard said. “You win it in the east.”

It’s about more than Cooper’s Senate bid

North Carolina is known for the university-heavy Research Triangle that includes Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, along with Charlotte’s banking hub. But it also includes large swaths of small towns and rural areas where Democrats have lost ground in recent decades.

That’s not just because of white voters realigning with Republicans. It’s also because Black voters who lean Democratic don’t vote as often as their urban counterparts. Those rural Black voters are concentrated east of the triangle, extending along winding state highways through small towns, flatlands and farmland toward the Atlantic coastline.

Cooper, 68, won two terms as governor and four terms as state attorney general. However, Republicans control the state courts and the legislature, and they’ve redrawn the congressional map to expand their advantage in the U.S. House. Donald Trump carried the state for Republicans all three times he ran for the White House.

Gailliard wants a more intentional effort

But Gailliard wants more.

“I couldn’t get any traction,” Gailliard recalled. “I begged them to bring her to Rocky Mount. I said, ‘Listen, Rocky Mount is the gateway to the East. If we crack Rocky Mount, we’ve cracked the East.’ Could not convince them to come. Two weeks later, guess who’s in Rocky Mount? Donald Trump.”

The Harris campaign sent former President Bill Clinton to the area instead.

Gailliard said Cooper needs people like him to get elected.

“Roy is a great friend, and I’m gonna run my butt off to help him in every way, but I’m not banking on his coattails,” Gailliard said. “I’m going to do the opposite. I’m going to grow coattails for him.”

The state party tries to fill gaps

Clayton, the state party chair, said the national party and its donors haven’t prioritized North Carolina early enough in recent cycles.

She said she’s relied mostly on local money to finance 25 full-time staffers, more than three times what the state party had heading into the 2022 midterms.

Bertie County Democratic chairwoman Camille Taylor, whose hometown of Powellsville has fewer than 200 residents, said she’s felt the shift.

She speaks regularly with a field organizer in nearby Greenville, the city closest to the northeastern counties with large proportions of Black residents. But she said it’s especially difficult to persuade rural voters to care about voting beyond the presidency, even though she tells them “these are the races and the people that you’re going to interact with more.”

Gailliard said he’s identified a few hundred nonprofits, neighborhood associations and other groups that can do issue-orientated work in his district as the election approaches. He wants to match each of them to specific precincts, routing money for them to reach voters and persuade them to vote.

He wants volunteers to get training from Democratic and left-leaning organizations rather than have the outsiders themselves knocking on rural Black voters’ doors.

“We can’t have 21-year-old recent college graduates from Utah knocking doors at $22 an hour in the hood,” Gailliard said. “That just does not work. They’re not a trusted messenger.”

Marginal voting changes add up

About 2 in 10 North Carolina voters in the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections were Black, according to AP VoteCast, as well as in the 2022 Senate election.

Roughly 4 in 10 Black voters in North Carolina’s last presidential election said they live in small towns or rural communities, similar to the share who said they live in the suburbs. Only about one-quarter reported living in urban areas.

Voter turnout between the 2020 and 2024 elections declined more in North Carolina counties that have larger Black populations.

An old Cooper schoolmate just wants to be asked

Gailliard said Democrats cannot underestimate how much it means for someone to simply get asked for their vote.

“Black and rural voters are not transactional,” he said. “They are relational.”

Back in Nashville at the beauty supply store, Brinkley agreed.

“You get to be a big wheel, and you can forget where you came from,” Brinkley said. “I ain’t gonna say Roy forgot. He’s a hometown guy, so to speak, but I don’t expect to see him out here walking.”

Brinkley made it clear that if he votes, it would be for Cooper and other Democrats — but only if he votes.

“I could. I could. I may vote,” he said. “There’s just so much going on.”

Fire Damages Helping Hand Mission in Raleigh

Ms. Jheri Worldwide — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:17:00 +0000

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

A fire that broke out the morning of March 1 has left significant damage to Helping Hand Mission, a longtime Raleigh nonprofit that has served families in need for decades.

Firefighters responded to the organization’s building on Rock Quarry Road, where large flames and heavy smoke were seen coming from the roof. Roughly 40 firefighters initially arrived on scene, with an additional 25 personnel called in due to the size of the building and the amount of materials inside. Crews were able to bring the fire under control in about 45 minutes, preventing it from spreading further, and no injuries were reported.

In a social media post, the Raleigh Professional Fire Fighters Association praised the response, calling it “phenomenal work by all crews on scene battling a tough fire in even tougher conditions.”

The blaze caused extensive damage to the mission’s office and primary storage facility, destroying large quantities of donated goods including clothing, furniture, toys, and pre-packed supplies intended for families.

Founder Sylvia Wiggins, who learned of the fire early that morning, noted that volunteers had prepared around 100 bags of food and toys just a day earlier, all of which were lost in the fire. The building has since been deemed unsafe, with significant structural and interior damage, and much of the organization’s records and operational materials were also destroyed.

Founded more than 50 years ago, Helping Hand Mission has long served as a lifeline for individuals and families facing poverty, homelessness, and crisis in the Raleigh area. Established by Wiggins in the early 1970s after she overcame her own hardships, the organization has grown into a wide-reaching, community-supported operation that now serves more than 1,300 people.

It provides food, clothing, furniture, and shelter assistance, as well as transitional housing through its New Bern House program for families working to regain stability. Entirely reliant on donations and volunteers, the mission operates multiple locations and runs a range of programs supporting children, seniors, and vulnerable populations year-round.

Beyond its direct services, the organization has become a fixture in the community through partnerships and outreach efforts, including holiday food drives, cold-weather initiatives distributing heaters and clothing, and collaborations with local groups such as the Carolina Hurricanes and other nonprofits. In the immediate aftermath, volunteers and community members began arriving with donations and offers to help rebuild, even as families in need continued to seek assistance. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched with a goal of $300,000 to help restore operations and replace lost supplies.

Despite the setback, Wiggins emphasized that the organization’s mission will endure. “We would never let this go. This is bigger than me, bigger than a building,” she said. “We are very resilient, and we’re going to continue.”

As the mission begins the long process of recovery, including potential demolition and rebuilding of parts of the facility, its role in the community remains unchanged.

Knight Brings History to Life in Exhibit

Jordan Meadows — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:04:00 +0000

By Jordan Meadows

Staff Writer

Artist Derwin Knight’s work took center stage last Thursday at the Durham Main County Library, where visitors gathered for a showcase with his distinctive paintings and storytelling.

Born in Long Island, New York, Knight studied at the State University College of New York at Old Westbury before graduating from North Carolina Central University. He joined the military in 1986, and it was during his time stationed in California that he first developed an interest in art, particularly glass painting.

After moving to High Point in 1996, Knight began refining his craft with the help of his sister, Janis Allen.

His work is known for its striking three-dimensional quality, layering imagery in a way that brings scenes vividly to life. Many of his pieces explore themes of religion and African American history, offering both visual depth and cultural reflection.

Knight’s art has been widely recognized and exhibited across North Carolina and beyond. His work has appeared at institutions including the North Carolina Museum of History bookstore, the African American Atelier, North Carolina Central University, the Hayti Heritage Center, Bennett College, Duke University, the North Carolina Museum of Art, North Carolina A&T, and the Congressional Black Caucus in Raleigh.

The Durham showcase offered attendees a chance to experience Knight’s work up close, where the layered glass technique and powerful subject matter created an immersive artistic experience.

North Carolina’s Disaster Risk Is High. How Does That Affect Home Insurance premiums?

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:58:00 +0000

BPR News - New data from a national insurance-comparison platform, Insurify, shows that homeowner’s insurance rates are rising across the nation – in many cases, due to climate risk.

Insurify projects North Carolina’s insurance premiums to rise only by about 5% in 2026, and have risen 14% overall since 2023, though rates actually fell a little in 2024. Compared to other high climate-risk states, the premiums are fairly flat — but there’s more to the story.

Between 1980 and 2024, North Carolina’s seen 121 billion-dollar disasters with an average of over seven billion-dollar disasters per year since 2020, according to climate data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

North Carolina has had an interesting few years when it comes to insurance premiums. The state’s rate bureau asked for a 42% rate hike last year, citing both increased risky development in hurricane-prone coastal areas and billions of dollars in storm damage from Hurricane Helene. The state insurance commissioner granted just a 7.5% increase.

Much of the damage incurred by North Carolina homeowners over the past several years is flood damage from extreme, multi-billion-dollar storms like Helene in Western North Carolina, and Florence in the coastal region, but flooding damage is not covered by homeowners’ insurance.

Other storm damage is covered in certain cases, like wind-related tree damage, but that too is proving to be problematic. One homeowner, Bob Tatum in Avery County, N.C., told BPR that his State Farm homeowners’ insurance – with a premium of $2,000 per year – wouldn’t cover tree and wind damage after it totaled his house during Hurricane Helene. Because the trees had pushed his house off its foundation, it had flooded.

“They kept saying, ‘No, it's flood,’ they wasn't going to cover anything.” Tatum said. He had previously had flood insurance for $9,000 per year, but had quit because it was so expensive.

“In North Carolina and in higher-risk coastal states, insurers are not providing coverage, like in your base home policy plan, for things like high wind damage,” said Jayson O’Neill, a spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future, which recently released a report on North Carolina’s insurance trends. A quarter of homeowners’ insurance claims after Helene were closed without payment last year, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Furthermore, some insurance companies are abandoning the state, or risk-prone swaths of it, entirely. Insurance company Nationwide, for example, dropped 10,000 customers in hurricane-prone zip codes of coastal North Carolina in 2024. O’Neill believes these denials keep rate increases on the moderate side — with upfront costs to homeowners.

Finally, a “consent to rate” loophole in state law allows companies to directly ask homeowners to approve monthly increases, which can open the door to future increases for individual households.

It’s a delicate balance, according to Mike Causey, the state’s Commissioner of Insurance. “You can't run the companies out of business, or we'd all be in trouble,” Causey said. “So, we've been trying to keep the increase as close to zero as possible.”

M&F Bank Grants $10,000 to Raleigh Small Business Marking $100,000 In Total Gifts Awarded Since 2024

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

DURHAM, N.C. – March 23, 2026 – M&F Bank, North Carolina’s only Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and minority-owned bank, awarded $10,000 to Sherrill’s University through its Empowering Growth Small Business Grant. The Raleigh business provides vocational and entrepreneurial training focused on cosmetology, barbering, natural hair care, and instructor training. The award was made possible through the bank’s ongoing partnership with Fiserv, a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions.

“At M&F Bank, our mission has always been rooted in service—and the Empowering Growth Small Business Grant is a meaningful extension of that commitment,” said Caroline Taylor, senior vice president and chief lending officer at M&F Bank. “By investing in entrepreneurs, we’re not just supporting individual businesses—we’re fueling broader economic opportunity.

After all, when small businesses grow, communities thrive.”

The recent grant marks the final of five $10,000 awards M&F Bank distributed as part of its 2025 grant cycle, bringing the total to more than $100,000 granted since the program’s inception in 2024. Through this initiative, the bank is advancing its mission to spur economic development, expand access to capital, and uplift entrepreneurs across North Carolina.

Interestingly, more than seventy percent of grant recipients have been female business owners, including Sherril’s University, whose mission is to address workforce gaps and economic inequities, the school provides hands-on trade education, professional development, and career pathways for youth, adults and second-career learners. The business serves diverse populations, including rural residents, low-income individuals, and those seeking alternative pathways to traditional college education. The company will use the grant to strengthen operational capacity and expand educational impact.

“Raleigh is a growing city filled with opportunity, and I want to make sure that people in our community have access to career pathways through trade education,” said Wanda Short, owner of Sherril’s University. “My commitment has always been the same — to provide training that helps individuals build independence, confidence and entrepreneurship right here in Raleigh.”

As a grant recipient, the company will gain access to a coordinated ecosystem of supportive business tools, trainings, and networking opportunities. It will receive a dedicated M&F Bank business banker to provide personalized guidance, expert advice, and tailored financial solutions as well as Chambers of Commerce memberships and complimentary technology from Clover, the world’s smartest point-of-sale system and business management platform.

“Commerce has the power to move the world forward—to uplift communities, drive economies, and transform lives. We’re committed to ensuring that all businesses, large and small, can be part of this force that propels us toward the future we all envision together,” said Neil Wilcox, head of corporate social responsibility at Fiserv. “M&F Bank’s mission to serve underrepresented people and communities aligns well with our efforts to support small businesses and make a meaningful impact.”