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...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.
Preston Blakely: My grandmothers couldn’t vote freely. I’m now the Mayor.
Mayor Preston Blakely of Fletcher, N.C., reflects on his legacy and the struggle for Civil Rights that he inherited from his family.
Billy Corriher: N.C. can’t let sore loser candidates undermine our democracy
The N.C. courts expert writes about the threats to democracy after the recent state Supreme Court race between Justice Allison Riggs and Judge Jefferson Griffin.
Jacob Brooks: Mark Robinson has something to teach all of us
As former N.C. Lt Gov. Mark Robinson exits public life, Jacob Brooks reflects on the scandal-plagued former politician.