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.
_
-
In 1965, Frederick Alexander became the first African American on the Charlotte City Council in the 20th century. Harvey Gantt was elected the city’s first Black mayor 18 years later, in 1983. Now, a generation later, Black leaders hold many of the most important positions in Mecklenburg County, both elected and appointed. Has their leadership created more equity for residents?
-
Mecklenburg County’s Latino population has grown by nearly 60,000 people in the past 10 years, according to the 2020 census. A large part of that growth has come from U.S.-born Latinos. This population growth presents both an array of new opportunities as well as shifting needs as more Latinos are born in the United States.
-
North Carolina's Latino population has gone through exponential growth in the last four decades. There are now more than 1 million Latino residents and 1 in 4 of them live in Mecklenburg or Wake counties. Economic opportunities in Mecklenburg County and North Carolina drive the growth.
-
Charlotte has invested an estimated $400 million in expanding pre-kindergarten and creating and preserving affordable housing as ways to improve the odds of children escaping poverty. That push came after Charlotte ranked last among 50 major cities in a study on economic mobility. As part of our increasing focus on race and equity issues, we take a closer look at where efforts in those areas stand.
-
The 2014 Land of Opportunity Study that ranked Charlotte 50 out of 50 for the largest community zones in the nation for economic mobility has been updated with tax returns through 2015. It also separates people by race and ethnicity, allowing a direct comparison between Black, Latino and white residents from different cities.
-
In 2014, Charlotte got some unsettling news – despite its booming economy, the American Dream was floundering here. A Harvard-Berkeley study found a child born in poverty had the lowest chances among major U.S. cities of making it out of poverty. It was a rallying cry for government, nonprofits, and companies to work together to improve those odds. But now, eight years later, it’s hard to tell whether we've made progress on those efforts.