racial justice

July 14, 2021 - As legislative sessions wind down, Republicans in states across the South are still pushing bills that could lead to mass arrests of protesters. Meanwhile, lawsuits have been filed against new anti-protest laws recently passed in Florida and Louisiana.

April 23, 2021 - The three Republican co-chairs of the North Carolina Senate elections committee have introduced legislation to restrict absentee voting by mail following a presidential election in which it was used heavily by Democratic voters. Duke Energy is among the top contributors to all three sponsors — one of whom is a former company executive.

February 23, 2021 - A group working to end racial disparities in the state's criminal justice system has launched a campaign to press local officials to take down the Confederate statues standing outside of dozens of courthouses across North Carolina, saying the statues send a message of racial subjugation. 

February 22, 2021 - The eight-year-old Fight for $15 movement is as close as it's ever been to winning the minimum wage law it's seeking, but barriers remain — including opposition from two Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Here's who would benefit from raising the minimum wage to $15, and a look at the strong public support for the move.

December 15, 2020 - Employees at one of the fast-food giant's outlets in Durham, North Carolina, say they were not notified when a coworker tested positive for COVID-19, putting their health at risk. They recently went on strike to demand better safety protections — as well as higher wages. 

October 28, 2020 - As Election Day approaches, frontline workers and anti-poverty activists are encouraging eligible low-wage voters in the nation's poorest region to take part in this year's election in hopes of electing leaders who will support a living wage and respond to the needs of low-wealth communities.

August 13, 2020 - As Black people continue to be victimized by police brutality, they are also dying disproportionately from COVID-19. The common thread is racism. 

July 1, 2020 - Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter uprising, a recent spate of suspicious hanging deaths of Black and Brown people nationwide sparks fears about the kind of vicious white backlash against Black progress the U.S. has seen before.  

March 12, 2019 - A state judge recently struck down a voter ID amendment to the N.C. Constitution because the legislators who ratified it were elected in unconstitutional, racially gerrymandered districts. Meanwhile, two white sheriffs who ousted black sheriffs with the help of a suspected election fraudster are also facing legal problems.