North Carolina Community Archives

Opinion: Why we are asking ‘Do You Even Live Here?’

by Beacon Media | Feb 19, 2026 | Dalton George, North Carolina, North Carolina Community, Opinion, Preston Blakely, Reclaiming Rural, Western North Carolina

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: Has the campaign of fear against Latinos in North Carolina awoken a sleeping giant?

by Beacon Media | Nov 25, 2025 | Latino Community, North Carolina, North Carolina Community, U.S. Politics

Brutal treatment and indiscriminate policing by federal law enforcement shown across social media has galvanized thousands of Latinos in North Carolina and beyond.

Two worlds: One snuck cigarettes as a teen. The other labored in NC’s tobacco fields.

by Briana Brough | Nov 14, 2025 | Agriculture, North Carolina, North Carolina Community, Reclaiming Rural

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

by Preston Blakely | Nov 5, 2025 | Beacon Voices, Elections, Labor, Local Politics, North Carolina, North Carolina Community, Preston Blakely

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.