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Recent examples of Dispatches
- - 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…
- - 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- Unaddressed questions - Oct. 7, 2025 Three questions or comments were sent in to the Forum during the transit tax discussion by online viewers. They were not read aloud or discussed. BPC…
- Juggling policy & people’s needs - Mayoral candidates discuss their role, and residents' role, in making government work.
- Do you accept what you read as true? - By Steve Johnston A friend of the Forum sends along this piece. It seems worth reading at a time when School Board candidates are dancing around over "what to do"…
- Unanswered questions - By Steve Johnston CMS board candidates this morning expressed pleasure at last year's test-score progress. And with the hard work and leadership of Supt. Dr. Crystal Hill. But the Forum's…
- Lorem Ipsum - By Marcus Tullius Cicero Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud…
- Footnote on Dispatches - • • • • Research and writing on subjects discussed at today’s Forum may be published in this column. Authors are unpaid and must agree to include their name. The material is…