June 11, 2024 “Open Forum” has come to mean something special. Anyone wishing to speak is invited to present an issue of public policy that they thinks merits more discussion – or action. The Forum's rules of decorum (no debate; no speaking out of turn; etc.) are relaxed a bit to encourage ... Continue Reading →
Sarah Belle Mingo Stevenson, 1925-2023
Page initiated Sept. 26, 2023 Sarah Belle Mingo Stevenson was born Oct. 26, 1925. She died Sept. 26, 2023. A Charlotte Observer remembrance is here. Other media reports included those from WFAE, the Charlotte Post, WSOC-TV, WCNC-TV, WBTV, Queen City News and QCityMetro, More on Stevenson’s life ... Continue Reading →
Open Forum examines internal challenges, community issues
June 13, 2023 Open Forum dates allow people to raise new issues, or re-hash old ones. Today's session was no different from a lot of others in the last few decades. There were internal matters: Encouraging audience members to respect presenters despite clear ideological differences. Attracting ... 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 →
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 →
Black History Month 2021
Feb. 1, 2021 For many years, the Forum marked Black History Month by scheduling speakers and panelists who could offer a perspective on the history of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's African-American community. In the name of upholding that tradition in these pandemic times: The following graphics were ... Continue Reading →
‘They prayed, cried and marched for this right’
By Juanita Chisholm Miller I am voting because it is a precious right that was attained through blood, sweat and tears of my forefathers and foremothers. They prayed, cried and marched for this right. They met with a few of the Presidents of this country. President Kennedy was ... Continue Reading →
Paving the road back from jail and prison for women
Sept. 11, 2018 The stories were epic. A woman is discharged from prison in November wearing flip-flops. Women leave without a photo ID, or a bus pass, or a place to stay, or.... Tuesday's presenters explained the work of Changed Choices. It's a nonprofit working in a space where recidivism rates ... Continue Reading →
Going first, then helping those coming along after
Feb. 2, 2016 Tuesday's speakers broke down barriers to African-Americans in the workplace by persevering despite harassment, unequal treatment and disrespect. Those are the war stories, and they are painful to listen to. But Juanita Miller, Carolyn Logan and Ken Koontz also pressed Forum ... Continue Reading →