Our Stories

At Beacon Media, we focus on telling the stories that truly matter to our communities. Beacon Media is built around the people who are preserving and strengthening democracy in North Carolina communities. From healthcare and education to housing and justice, our stories are crafted to inform, inspire, and spark meaningful change. It is these community leaders and trusted messengers who will shift our collective narrative and show us what is possible — and then they are the ones who will make it a reality. We share their words and voices far and wide. That’s why all of our commentary is free to republish. We encourage you to use and share our work to help amplify the voices and issues that need attention across our state.

Read The Latest Stories

Graig Meyer: An Open Letter to an ICE Agent in a Mask

Nov 26, 2025 | Beacon Voices, Graig Meyer, Latino Community, Migration, North Carolina, U.S. Politics

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.

Rev. C.J. Brinson: A time for Democrats to break the silence

by C.J. Brinson | Apr 9, 2025

Pastor C.J. Brinson says the example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., anti-Vietnam speech should encourage Democrats like N.C. Gov. Josh Stein to have more courage. By C.J. Brinson Beacon Media Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1964. Source: Wikimedia Commons In a...

Gwen Frisbie-Fulton: A love letter to the working class

by Gwen Frisbie-Fulton | Apr 1, 2025

The writer reflects on her love of all things associated with the working class. By Gwen Frisbie-Fulton Working Class Storytelling City of Greenville, North Carolina, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons It started in the back seat of my family’s Jeep Cherokee, the...

Dalton George: My personal affordable housing crisis

by Dalton George | Apr 1, 2025

A young renter — who is also a member of the Boone Town Council — reflects on his and North Carolina’s affordable housing crisis. By Dalton George Beacon Media Downtown Boone, North Carolina in the summer of 2023. Photo by Amanda Underwood. It took a...

Stevie Brooks: How we turned a protest into our version of a church

by Stevie Brooks | Mar 25, 2025

A rally held in protest of federal actions, courtesy of Stevie Brooks. Last month, the leader of a protest in Shelby gathered the community and conquered fears and critics. By Stevie Brooks Beacon Media When I got home the night of the big protest I...

Jeremy Markovich: There is no such thing as a Durham accent

by Jeremy Markovich | Mar 18, 2025

People are all up in arms about the North Carolina accents from the latest season of “The White Lotus.” So where exactly did they come from? By Jeremy Markovich Beacon Media Jason Isaacs with Morgana O'Reilly on Season 3 of "The White Lotus." Photograph by Fabio...

Rev. C.J. Brinson: Remembering activist Fannie Lou Hamer can show us the way forward

by C.J. Brinson | Mar 18, 2025

Greensboro pastor C.J. Brinson says that attacks on marginalized communities should not make anyone despair or tune out. By C.J. Brinson Beacon Media Fannie Lou Hamer, American civil rights leader, in 1964. Credit: Ken Thompson Collection, Global Ministries, The...