race
Two NC House Republicans resign leadership positions in the wake of derogatory remarks
North Carolina House Republicans Jeff McNeely and Keith Kidwell have resigned leadership positions within their caucus in the wake of controversial statements each representative made last week. The resignations were first reported by Raleigh’s News & Observer. Republican House Majority Leader John Bell announced the resignations during a House session Thursday morning, the paper reported. […]
SPLC Report: Seven Confederate monuments removed in NC last year, 173 remaining
North Carolina was among the states that removed the most Confederate monuments and symbols last year, according to new data from the Southern Poverty Law Center. But just seven such symbols were removed, according to the SPLC; 173 remain across the state. This week, as the North Carolina Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities held […]
General Assembly asking for info on DEI at UNC campuses as GOP targets diversity efforts
This week the N.C. General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations requested documents related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) training programs through the UNC System and all of its 17 campuses. The request, according to a Tuesday letter from Derrick Welch, director of Senate Majority Staff Government Operations, is part of the […]
New Meredith College poll looks at views on discrimination, Equal Rights Amendment
New polling from Meredith College examines North Carolinians’ views of discrimination and the Equal Rights Amendment, which seeks to provide protections for those experiencing it. The full report on the poll, produced in partnership with the ERA-NC Alliance, was published Monday. It delves into how different North Carolinians see discrimination against an array of different […]
Experts debate affirmative action in admissions at UNC as Supreme Court weighs the issue
Last week, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Program for Public Discourse began its 2023 series of public discussions with a panel on affirmative action in university admissions. This week, that discussion is available in its entirety on the program’s YouTube channel. In late October the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in cases over affirmative action in […]
Is the new AP African American Studies course dangerous? Students don’t think so
Three days after the nation honored Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership in the Civil Rights Movement, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education announced that no Florida public high school would be allowed to teach the nation’s first and only Advanced Placement or AP African American Studies course at the college level. She asserted […]
Congressional Black Caucus meets with Biden to push for police accountability
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday evening to urge the administration to use its executive power for law enforcement reform, following criminal charges for police officers in the killing of a Black man in Memphis, Tennessee. “My hope is this dark memory spurs some […]
Racist jury strikes go on trial at the NC Supreme Court
Russell Tucker was a Black man facing the death penalty in the South in the “tough-on-crime” 1990s. He deserved the chance to be tried by a jury of his peers — people who might have had similar life experiences and been able to see him as something other than a one-dimensional “monster.” However, a Forsyth […]
Days after Indiana attack, White House vows to fight hate against Asian Americans
WASHINGTON— The White House on Tuesday announced a multi-agency strategy to help combat anti-Asian American hate, promote language access and improve governmental data collection for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. “This unprecedented plan builds on the administration’s broader equity agenda,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Tuesday’s press briefing. […]
Jody Greene’s racist comments cost Columbus County Sheriff’s Office military equipment
The Department of Public Safety has suspended the Columbus County Sheriff’s Department from participating in a program that allows law enforcement agencies to acquire surplus military equipment. The suspension is the latest development for Jody Greene, the Columbus County sheriff who resigned, and then was re-elected, after making racist comments about his Black employees. Greene has […]
Rev. William Barber to lead new center at Yale Divinity School
Rev. William Barber, former head of the N.C. NAACP, will lead a new center at the Yale Divinity School. Barber announced the creation of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy in a Twitter post Monday, saying it will “prepare a new generation of moral leaders to be active participants in creating a just […]
Biden signs law extending marriage protections to same-sex and interracial couples
WASHINGTON — Same-sex and interracial couples had many of their marriage rights codified Tuesday when President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan marriage equality bill during a ceremony attended by thousands outside the White House. In a brief speech, Biden told supporters on the South Lawn that “marriage is a simple proposition — who do you […]