All Beacon Stories
kimberly jones: Rural public schools don’t want a handout. They want access to opportunity
Former teacher of the year Kimberly Jones, once a rural area public school student, says state lawmakers should offer the same opportunities to rural students that are offered to those from wealthier By Kimberly Jones Beacon Media Photo by Nathan...
Billy Ball: How Jesse Jackson was vilified — and ultimately redeemed
The white South made a villain of a native son, but the region never had a better champion for it on the big stage than the Rev. Jesse Jackson. By Billy Ball The Living South Photo by Fine Photographics on Unsplash In 1984, the Rev. Jesse Jackson lost his campaign for...
Opinion: Why we are asking ‘Do You Even Live Here?’
Two mayors from Western North Carolina are launching a new podcast, in partnership with Beacon Media, to answer a big question about the future of North Carolina. Preston Blakely (left) & Dalton George (right) By Preston Blakely and Dalton George Beacon Media Last...
Opinion: A child of immigrants, no longer alone in fear
Growing up as the daughter of undocumented immigrants, the author knew fear and uncertainty. Now, amid a federal crackdown aimed at Latino immigrants, she felt that again — until she saw her community respond. A protest in Wilson, N.C. Photo courtesy of Andressia...
Opinion: Small particles, big impacts for our air
The editor of N.C. Health News tracks the repeal of an environmental regulation by the EPA and explains how changes to seemingly small regulations have big health impacts. By Rose Hoban N.C. Health News Breathe in. And out. Do it a few more times. Then think...
Martin Henson: Resisting ICE is not just about immigration
From the death of a woman in Minnesota to federal immigration raids in North Carolina, resistance is an awful reminder of a society once governed by slavery. Image created by AI. By Martin Henson Beacon Media I can imagine the scene: Locked shoulder to shoulder,...
Shannon Moretz: Why my rural community needs a new community news site
Many rural counties across North Carolina have suffered a loss in the quantity and quality of community news. In Caswell County, Shannon Moretz is working to change that.
Melissa Castillo: In North Carolina fields, a ministry of tamales
An underground economy helps immigrants survive, sometimes with a little humanity. Can we learn from that to reform our immigration system so it recognizes reality? By Melissa Castillo Beacon Media It’s Wednesday afternoon in Sampson County, and I watch as Juana’s...
Opinion: A year after Helene, N.C. Christmas tree farms are rebounding
Hurricane Helene did a number on the five counties that make North Carolina the second-largest Christmas tree producing state. But today there is already a sense of optimism from local farmers.
Sam Grote: Duke Energy’s rate hike exposes a broken system
Duke Energy’s latest request to the state to increase our power bills even more exposes our broken regulatory system. Learn why it’s happening—and how you can fight back. By Sam Grote N.C. Business Impact Forum In October, Duke Energy told regulators and the public...
Gwen Frisbie-Fulton: On Black Friday, honoring the retail workers
As millions hunt for deals and fill their carts on Black Friday and during this holiday season, remember and honor the people who make it possible.
Graig Meyer: An Open Letter to an ICE Agent in a Mask
When federal immigration enforcement agents deployed to Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and other places around North Carolina, terrifying and haphazard arrests ensued. Graig Meyer has some questions for the people behind the masks.
Opinion: Has the campaign of fear against Latinos in North Carolina awoken a sleeping giant?
Brutal treatment and indiscriminate policing by federal law enforcement shown across social media has galvanized thousands of Latinos in North Carolina and beyond.
Stevie Brooks: As communities struggle with hunger, food is all around us
One effort shows that area farms can play a role in helping to feed people. Will that be enough with the current crisis in food assistance?
Two worlds: One snuck cigarettes as a teen. The other labored in NC’s tobacco fields.
Beacon Media’s Community Media Liaison Bri Brough, who is also a photographer, spent the day recently with Beacon Voice Yesenia Cuello and heard her story.
Preston Blakely: What wielding a vacuum has taught me about power
Cleaning and vacuuming taught the mayor of Fletcher, N.C., a small Western North Carolina town near Asheville, what a gavel never could about leadership and how to be a mayor.
A Rosh Hashanah Sermon: Revisiting Our Truths as an Act of Teshuvah
Let us question ourselves and what we think we know as an act of empathy, Rabbi Hannah Bender of Judea Reform synagogue argued in their Rosh Hashanah or New Year’s sermon in September.
Kimberly Jones: Access to a good education is a civil right. How do we plan to enforce it?
Deep cuts and layoffs to the U.S. Department of Education endanger our students and our democracy in North Carolina.
Democracy does, in fact, die in darkness
The end of an era at the Washington Post marks a turning point for media’s role in strengthening our democracy in North Carolina and beyond.
Martin Henson: A murder on a Charlotte train, exploited for Black blood
The writer argues that the murder of a white woman by a Black man on a train in Charlotte, N.C., became the latest incident used for political convenience by our leaders.