Jan. 21, 2025 Forum facilitators this morning sat down at the presenters' table. and offered their reflections on why they volunteer reliably at the Forum, what their particular focus is in sustaining the group, and what it means to them. Some have been at the forum only a few years. One has been ... Continue Reading →
Forum marks Sarah Stevenson’s 97th
Oct. 25, 2022 ... Continue Reading →
Slow uptick in early voting prompts discussion
May 3, 2022 At the conclusion of this morning's session on District Court primaries, facilitator Mary Johnson asked Forum participants for ideas on how to raise voter participation in the May 17 primary, and in subsequent elections. Superior Court Judge Kimberly Best suggested that telling the ... Continue Reading →
Facilitators visit tricked-out Belmont Center meeting room
March 22, 2022 Forum facilitators masked up and met this afternoon at Belmont Center, to examine room upgrades and map out plans for return to the building. A decision was made to resume in-person meetings at 700 Parkwood Ave. sometime after the May 17 primary election. With a new COVID variant ... Continue Reading →
Developer’s story plays out in Beatties Ford Road corridor project
Nov. 9, 2021 In other hands, a rundown strip shopping center might turn into a less rundown strip shopping center. In Chris' Dennis's hands, Chase Bank is a major tenant, a portion of the building has been set aside for a yet-to-be-announced art presence, and the South Carolina native who's been ... Continue Reading →
Preserving, connecting: JCSU archiving the Black Charlotte experience
Sept. 14, 2021 Many of the stories have already been told about life in Black Charlotte neighborhoods maimed or destroyed by 1960s urban renewal or the current wave of gentrification. But Johnson C. Smith University Archivist Brandon Lunsford is on the hunt for the stories and photos that have ... Continue Reading →
‘I know the struggle’
By Mary F. Johnson I am voting because my ancestors fought and died for the right to vote. I remember my parents and grandparents always making a big deal of election day. It was a day of celebration for them because they remembered when the vote was not available to them because of their ... Continue Reading →
Endorsements by facilitator prompts statement
On April 29, 2014, Mary Johnson issued partisan endorsements while facilitating a Forum meeting. Later, Forum co-founder Sarah Stevenson issued a statement saying, "Mary's comments are her views and not those of the Forum, even though she was presiding." The video clips are issued here in the name ... Continue Reading →
Reflections of Some Who Lived Black History
When the Forum gathered at the Wallace Pruitt Rec Center for the "Highlighting African-American Achievers" exhibit, participants saw reminders of the inventive genius of African-Americans, and saw a riviting skit about the Underground Railroad. When the skit concluded, they met in a room and ... Continue Reading →