Archives for April 2018

African-American Women in Journalism: Black Southern Belle

From Daisy Bates to Oprah Winfrey, black women in the South have blazed the trails of journalism. We reached out to black female journalists — women who are either from the South or who now call the region home– to ask them how they found their voices for storytelling. We also asked them to recommend friends, mentors, and other journalists who have inspired them. Here are the slightly edited responses. You will be sure to be inspired by these Southern Bred, African American Women in Journalism. If you know of a Black Southern Belle in media, be sure to share her information with us on social media with the hashtag #blacksouthernbelle.

Opinion: America’s Future Depends on Clearly Seeing Its Past

It may be a museum that makes viewers want to look away, with its solemn memorial to the thousands of men, women and children murdered — lynched — in countless acts of domestic terrorism. But facing truth must come before reconciliation, before Americans can clearly see where the tribalism that continues to threaten unity can eventually and inevitably lead.

President Trump on the World Stage

CHARLOTTE, NC –The following weeks will be the test, as President Trumpwraps up his time with France’s president Emmanuel Macron in an official state visit. Then, he hosts German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Friday. This is leading up to a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Will he be able to operate as a leader on the world stage while keeping his promise to keep America out of overseas conflicts?

Opinion: When the World of Politics Collides With the Real One

It is months away from November 2018, but that doesn’t stop predictions not only for the midterms but also for President Donald Trump’s re-election chances in 2020. But while the world of politics is preoccupied with whether a blue wave is inevitable or a figment of hopeful Democrats’ imagination, events outside the bubble might shift the electorate in unpredictable ways.

Blue Wave? Is It Too Early for Voting Predictions?

CHARLOTTE, NC– Early voting for the 2018 primaries starts tomorrow. A Washington Post article claims that Democrats advantage in the midterms may be slipping. In North Carolina, there will not be a presidential, Senate or gubernatorial race at the top of the ballot. But with seats in the U.S. House and state legislature, and balance of power at stake, polls and predictions have started.

Will there be a blue wave? Is it too early for predictions?

Opinion: Showing Your Gun — A New Campaign Strategy?

A U.S. House race in South Carolina may depend on how you define the word “brandish,” as in, what exactly do you call it when Republican Congressman Ralph Norman pulls out his gunin a Rock Hill diner meet-and-greet with constituents?

Though the state’s law enforcement division and attorney general have concluded “this is not a prosecutable offense,” Republicans and Democrats are weighing the political plusses and minuses of the recent event in light of a midterm race that gets more interesting by the day.

U.S. Reaction to Syria Chemical Attacks

CHARLOTTE, NC — Russia has vetoed a U.S. draft resolution at the UN Security Council Tuesday that would have established an independent investigation into the suspected use of chemical weapons, much to the anger of Ambassador Nikki Haley, and the U.S. President Trump has blasted the Russia involvement and is vowing to take action

Opinion: Taking the Lessons of the Holy Season and MLK — but Not to Heart

Belief in the separation of church and state has turned out to be situational, depending on what issue you want the government to highlight or ignore — abortion rights or aid to the poor, criminal justice reform or same-sex marriage — and which faith you favor.

This is a time of year that challenges that not-so-bright line, no matter what side you fall on, when the occasional (or non) worshipper nevertheless is drawn by devotion, guilt or nostalgia to traditions that otherwise are pushed aside.

And the lessons of the season for those of any or no faith can be worthwhile.

50 Years After MLK’s Death

CHARLOTTE, NC — His message of justice and equality and economic justice still resonates, though even the optimistic realize we have not yet realized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. In Charlotte and around the country and the world, what are all of us doing to move forward and what needs to be done?

Opinion: It’s the Action of Youth That Shames Lawmakers

It was partly partisan politics that drove protesters and counterprotesters in the global “March for Our Lives” on Saturday. Many who traveled to Washington or their town squares demanded action on school safety, gun control and more.

But to Washington lawmakers, of both parties and on either side of the gun issue, who just managed to pass a $1.3 trillion omnibus bill to keep the government running that same week and may not pass any other major legislation for the rest of the year, it was a rebuke.

That day had to feel bigger than a one-time event driven by the violence that has touched too many young lives. “These kids,” whether you praise or curse them, were actually doing something, and acting more grown-up than the adults.