Is white shame fueling white rage?
People in Durham are talking about the tumbling of the statue honoring Confederate soldiers. Wendy Jacobs, chair of the board of county commissioners, told me she received more than 1,700 calls on the... Read More
NC Spin Articles
Let NC cities decide fate of monuments
Editorial by Rocky Mount Telegram, August 17, 2017. City governments and other institutions are dealing with the repercussions of the horrific Charlottesville white supremacist rally in different ways... Read More
Historical context
My great-grandfather, George Stephens, lived a remarkable life. He was born in 1873 near Summerfield in Guilford County into a family of excommunicated Quakers. His father died when he was very young... Read More
Take 'em down
Now that even the morally obtuse Trump has been forced to say white racist terrorism is wrong, we move on to a knottier issue: Should Confederate statues and memorials stay, or should they go? Here... Read More
NC sees record visitor spending
So how bad did HB-2 hurt North Carolina? As many of you will remember during the contentious debate over HB2, opponents predicted the legislation would prove an economic disaster for the state. One... Read More
Legislature's support needs to move from hyperbole to reality
To say that the new two-year budget approved by state lawmakers represents “the best budget in a decade” for North Carolina’s public four-year universities (as UNC president Margaret Spellings... Read More
Time for bed, GOP
The wrangling between federal judges and GOP legislators brings to mind an episode from early childhood. I was probably six, and I’d misbehaved, so my punishment was an early dinner, early bath and... Read More
Support for NC Charters remains strong despite disappointing national poll
Some of the best polling on national education issues is done by the journal Education Next. Results from the annual Education Next Poll on School Reform were released earlier this week. Some... Read More
Some ideas have hideous consequences
In 1948, a 38-year-old North Carolinian and English professor at the University of Chicago coined a memorable phrase: “ideas have consequences.” Richard Weaver, a traditionalist conservative from... Read More
Scandalous special sessions subvert our democracy
The General Assembly will convene a special session next week but most people in North Carolina, including the vast majority of the members of House and Senate, have no idea what legislation they will... Read More
