May 5, 2026 By SEAN LANGLEY This time, the conversation has shifted to the new Wegmans currently under development in Ballantyne. As often happens whenever a major grocery store announces plans for a new location, the discussion quickly turns to why these investments continue to flow to certain ... Continue Reading →
Exploring why men are absent from civic life
May 5, 2026 By ZHATEYA JONES A film premiering May 23 was inspired by a sense that men – particularly Black men – are increasingly absent from civic spaces. Are men are no longer showing up in civic life the way previous generations once did? Hosted by a panel of leaders including filmmaker ... Continue Reading →
Rev. Corine Mack explores multiple myeloma
March 31, 2026 By ZHATEYA JONES In a room filled with testimony, urgency and truth, one message echoed louder than the rest: Listen to your body – and fight to be heard. At a recent community forum led by Rev. Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte Mecklenburg NAACP, residents gathered to ... Continue Reading →
Writing Truth, Fighting for Community, and Turning Life into Legacy
March 24, 2026 By ZHATEYA JONES In a world where many wait for permission to speak, Dr. Blanche Penn has built a life – and a literary catalog – on doing the opposite. Author, community advocate, and civic leader, Penn has spent decades transforming lived experience into testimony, using her ... Continue Reading →
2 advocates review the alarming statistics
March 10, 2026 By ZHATEYA JONES The Forum's first session in a series prepared for Women's History Month posed this question: Why are Black women still dying in childbirth in the United States? Presenter was Danette McLaurin Glass, Managing Principal and Senior Strategist of First TEAM ... Continue Reading →
More about CMS principal Joseph C. Belton
Feb. 12, 2026 By Queen Norwood Thompson The Feb. 10 session was excellent. I applaud the group's discussion on education and that of Mrs. Belton as a counselor at West Charlotte High School. David Belton's father, Mr. Joseph C. Belton, was equally a powerhouse in Charlotte. I and my husband ... Continue Reading →
Background on Dillon’s Rule
Dec. 2, 2025 Nothing will end this Dillon's Rule controversy, but here is some background, from Coates' Canons NC Local Government Law "The 'rule' refers to a standard for judicial interpretation – a guide for judges suggesting that municipal powers should be narrowly construed. It was developed ... Continue Reading →
Documents about Lab Fund connection
Nov. 18, 2025 Here are some of the documents behind today's announcement of a fund to support livestream and other digital support for the Forum. July 28: An e-mail outlining the interest of the NC Local News Lab Fund in offering financial support of the Forum's work. July 28: Steve Johnston's ... Continue Reading →
How can voter participation be encouraged?
Oct. 22, 2025 By Steve Johnston Perhaps one of the more interesting threads running through the District 3 conversation had to do with this: How do elected officials encourage resident input into city policymaking? And what encourages disparate, far-flung residential neighborhoods to ... Continue Reading →
The legacy of a 1975 voter revolt
Oct. 8, 2025 The city was smaller. Precincts were fewer. But the 1975 rejection of an airport bond referendum is remembered by some older Black voters as a victory for justice over get-along. Mayor John Belk had proposed a major airport terminal expansion. City Council included 6 white members ... Continue Reading →