Jan. 16, 2026 ... Continue Reading →
Precinct organizing is #1, advocate of accountability concludes
Nov. 17, 2024 Journalist Ken Koontz says that, about eight years ago, he saw a need for some way that citizens could hold their elected officials publicly accountable for the promises they make. He wrote a draft of how a "We The People Alliance" could issue letter grades, "A" through "F," as a ... Continue Reading →
Panel to explore plan to hold officeholders accountable
Nov. 13, 2024 Longtime journalist and community activist Ken Koontz announced details of a presentation scheduled at the Forum next Tuesday, Nov. 19. He offered these details in advance so that participants, both in the Belmont Center meeting room and online, would be able to read about the ... Continue Reading →
Discerning a path toward higher voter turnout
Nov. 12, 2024 Monifa Drayton worked in leadership positions, and more recently opened a coaching and leadership consulting firm. She opened her Forum presentation by saying she was unable to comment on her resignation last week as executive director of the Mecklenburg Democratic Party. But in ... Continue Reading →
New sale expected at Excelsior Club site
Open Forum
Oct. 24, 2023 It was a small crowd that attended or listened to this morning's Forum. But a wide variety of issues were aired. If there was news made, it might have been that a last-minute inform-the-voters effort is under way to shore up support for the school bonds. The District 6 City Council ... Continue Reading →
‘Disappointed’ … ‘Enraged’: Views shared on sea change in N.C. political landscape
April 11, 2023 Some people in the room had lent their support to Tricia Cotham when she ran for the N.C. House as a Democrat. Some of the people were part of organizations that endorsed her bid, and supported her platform as a Democrat. The emotions created by the announcement last week that ... Continue Reading →
Steve Crump shares his latest documentary
April 4, 2023 Video documentarian Steve Crump had asked that the Forum today share with Forum participants his latest work: "Andrew Young's Datelines of Protest." On his way to the hospital for observation this morning, he called to say, can't be there but go ahead and share. That's Steve ... Continue Reading →
History doesn’t make people; People make history
Feb. 1, 2023 “Black history is a lifetime. It is not a month. Stop letting other people control the narrative.” – Forum participant Gary Marion Jan. 24, 2023 Perhaps there is no middle way between the stout defenders of Black History Month and Gary Marion's ... Continue Reading →
Black experiences inside the Charlotte media
Feb. 15, 2022 An earlier generation might have called them “members of the press.” The earth-shaking monsters of lead, metal, ink and paper of old have mostly gone silent; the dominant forms of dissemination of news are now broadcast, via radio and television, and dominating outreach to younger ... Continue Reading →