A conversation of race and equity in Charlotte
In this special conversation, host Mary C. Curtis is joined by local leaders and experts at Project 658 in Charlotte to look at how far the city has come, and what still needs to happen to approve upward mobility in Charlotte.
-
As Charlotte grows, questions about how to build a more equitable city constantly emerge. WFAE’s SouthBound host Tommy Tomlinson aims to explore some ideas on Thursday regarding planning, preserving and building neighborhoods, and the arts. Here’s a look at the panelists who will take the stage.
-
The Thornhill Rites of Passage Foundation works with boys in the seventh and eighth grades to build their character, grow their financial literacy and help equip them to navigate obstacles that arise as they transition from teens to adults.
-
Over the past few years, the population of homeless people has grown — and become more visible — in Charlotte, and helping to solve the problem won’t be quick, simple or cheap. But local experts say the costs of action should be weighed against the cost of doing nothing.
-
Turnout was low in Mecklenburg County’s municipal elections earlier this month — about 15.5%, or right around average for our off-year elections. Preliminary statistics show the people who voted were more likely to be white, female and not Hispanic than the county as a whole.
-
Harvard economist Raj Chetty had a sobering message for people in Charlotte working to increase economic mobility: Don’t expect quick results. In fact, be prepared to wait, and work, for decades.
-
Next week, the Hmong community will celebrate the most important holiday in their culture: the New Year. In North Carolina, home to the country's fourth-largest Hmong population, the annual festivities will be in Newton, about 50 miles northwest of Charlotte.
-
It’s been almost a decade since Harvard economist Raj Chetty released his report that ranked the Charlotte region 50th out of 50 for economic mobility, shocking local leaders used to the image of Charlotte as a New South boomtown brimming with opportunity for all. Next Tuesday, Chetty will visit UNC Charlotte to talk about his latest work, focused on social capital.
-
Iranians in Charlotte continue to speak out against Iran's Islamic Republic regime and cope — by creating art. Behzad Riazi, a Charlotte-based Iranian artist and cartoonist, immigrated in 2017. After earning his MFA at Penn State, he returned to Charlotte in 2022 to pursue art full-time.
-
Charlotte baker Norma Zuñiga has been getting ready for the holiday rush, specifically Día de los Muertos, Mexico’s Day of the Dead, on Nov. 1. She’s been busy in the kitchen to meet the Charlotte-area demand for one of the day’s traditional altar offerings.
-
Only 42% of Head Start centers across the U.S. are located within walking distance of a transit stop, meaning that, for many low-income families, transportation is a major obstacle in accessing a service they’re entitled to.
-
Charlotte-based nonprofit Circle de Luz is celebrating its 15th year with a coming-of-age party — a quinceañera ball. The organization is dedicated to getting more Latina girls on track for college.
-
Nadine Ford is a swim coach and the executive director of Evolutionary Aquatics — a primarily Black swim club dedicated to teaching adults how to swim. It also provides a space where Black people can talk about issues that affect them.
_
-
We take a look back at several key points in Charlotte’s LGBT history. The city of Charlotte published a timeline recently that includes some of these events; you can also find a trove of recorded interviews online at UNC Charlotte with LGBT activists and residents if you want to hear firsthand what it was like growing up and living as a gay person in Charlotte in previous decades.
-
Abel Cruz is part of the H-2A program, through which the government issues temporary visas to 370,000 people, mostly from Mexico, to work in the U.S. in agriculture. North Carolina ranks fifth nationally for the number of workers on seasonal H-2A work visas, with about 15,000 laboring under the sun in fields of ripening tobacco, cotton, soybeans and more. Thousands more workers are undocumented.
-
Charlotte’s Independent Picture House will screen a series of award-winning and hard-to-find Latin American films starting later this month.
-
“Exclusionary zoning” reared its head again this week at a City Council committee meeting, the latest in an ongoing fight about how Charlotte should grow and who should be allowed, or able, to live where under new development rules that would allow duplexes and triplexes throughout the city.
-
Charlotte Pride returns later this month, but festivities start unofficially this weekend with a uniquely Latin American — and Charlottean — event. East Charlotte’s VisArt will host a tribute night this Saturday in celebration of one of Latin America’s most beloved LGBTQ+ icons, Juan Gabriel, known by fans as JuanGa.
-
Charlotte Water conducts more than 170,000 tests a year for contaminants from fecal bacteria to heavy metals, and sends customers annual reports. But if you’re on well water, it’s a different story. You’re responsible for testing to ensure and maintain the safety of the water flowing from your tap. And a new study released Monday by UNC-Chapel Hill finds that there are big disparities in income and race between well-users when it comes to safety and contamination.
-
Candidate filing for this year’s municipal elections has wrapped up, setting the stage for local contests that will determine who sits on the school board, the Charlotte City Council, the mayor’s chair and other town boards. A $2.5 billion bond issue for school construction will also be on the ballot, along with $1.5 billion for other county projects. And in the end, it’s likely that fewer than 1 in 5 voters will turn out in Mecklenburg County.
-
The annual gathering kicks off Sunday at noon in Charlotte. It is held the last week of July to mark Peru’s independence from the Spanish Empire.
-
It’s striking how many of Charlotte’s local policy debates are still wrapped up in the language of economic mobility. Whether it’s transit and transportation, disparities in the school system, or racial inequities in housing, that’s how you’ll likely hear the questions framed. The latest: In the discussion about a developer seeking public subsidies for a new tennis complex, the sports arena has largely been portrayed as a tool to help low-income communities and children.
-
Some academics say helping low-income residents buy their own cars, or have access to cars, is a good way to improve economic mobility. Charlotte leaders are focusing instead on boosting the city's transit system.