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WUNC News Archive
Listen to our collection of WUNC news stories. WUNC News stories prior to May 23, 2006 may be found here. There's more about our North Carolina Voices series here. Recent stories are also available as a podcast 
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Please note: audio for some news stories in late 2007 is currently unavailable. We are working to restore the missing audio as soon as possible. If you would like a CD copy of items in this archive (including ones currently without audio), please send your request to tapes@wunc.org and our staff will follow up.
Census Road Tour Stops in Triad
Tuesday, February 09 2010
by Yasmeen Khan
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The census "Portrait of America" road tour will be in the Triad today. The bus tour is trying to raise awareness about the census and why it's important. Census data are used to decide how much federal money states receive, and how many representatives states get in Congress. The census tour-bus will spend half the day at Elon University. It will then travel to Greensboro later this afternoon.
Craig Orsi is a public relations student at Elon who's working to coordinate events at the University. He says the campaign is trying to reach hard-to-count populations, such as college students.
"Most of us don't remember the last census because we weren't old enough to fill it out and it happened ten years ago. And generally, since we live on campus and off campus in apartments--and since most of us don't own our own houses--most of us don't think that we have to send in the census. When actually, anyone who's over 18 and doesn't live full time at home has to do it."
The 10-question census forms should arrive in people's mailboxes by mid-March.
Federal Officials to Investigate Wayne County Schools
Friday, February 05 2010
by Dave DeWitt
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The U.S. Department of Justice will investigate Wayne County Schools. The state NAACP had asked for the investigation, saying the district in eastern North Carolina discriminates against African-American students.
The Department of Justice will coordinate the investigation through its Office of Civil Rights. The NAACP filed the complaint over how students are assigned in Wayne County. The county is roughly 50-50 black-white, but one attendance zone in the district is 99.6 percent black and about 90 percent low income.
Reverend William Barber is president of the state's NAACP. "This intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice will give added strength to this new fusion movement that is developing in Wayne County and across this state," says Barber.
The NAACP hopes that the DOJ's involvement will influence other federal entities in Wayne County, like the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
Morehead Planetarium Gets a Technology Upgrade
Tuesday, February 02 2010
by Dave DeWitt
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Since it opened 40 years ago, hundreds of thousands of North Carolina school children have visited the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill. They watched shows that were both informative and entertaining. But in recent years, the technology has struggled to keep up with the times. What was once a cutting edge facility began to seem outdated.
Not anymore. As Dave DeWitt reports, the Morehead Planetarium is ready to wow kids and adults all over again.
Civil Rights Center Opens in Greensboro
Monday, February 01 2010
by Eric Hodge, Jessica Jones, and Yasmeen Khan
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photo by Dan Routh (courtesy International Civil Rights Center and Museum)
WUNC's Jessica Jones spoke to Eric Hodge from downtown Greensboro, where people gathered to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. The museum is housed in the old Woolworth's building where the famed lunch counter sit-ins took place.
Members of the "Greensboro Four" Reflect on Sit-in
Monday, February 01 2010
by Jessica Jones
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Jack Moebes/Corbis (courtesy of npr.org)
Greensboro's International Civil Rights Center and Museum opens its doors to visitors this morning. It's housed in a former Woolworth's store where, fifty years ago today, four students at North Carolina A&T State University held their first sit-in. They were Joseph MacNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair, now known as Jibril Khazan. Richmond died years ago, but the surviving three of the "Greensboro Four" attended the ribbon cutting on Monday. They also spoke recently at a conference in Greensboro. Here are their recollections in their own words.
Hickory Area Deals with High Unemployment
Friday, January 29 2010
by Leoneda Inge
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North Carolina has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country since the nation's economy took a turn for the worse. It now sits at 11.2 percent. One region of the state struggling the most is a cluster of communities making up Hickory, Lenoir and Morganton.
Civil Rights Center Ready to Open
Friday, January 29 2010
by Jessica Jones
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Photo: Dan Routh (courtesy International Civil Rights Center and Museum)
This weekend, Greensboro begins celebrating the opening of the new International Civil Rights Center and Museum. It was fifty years ago that four African-American college students made history by sitting down at a segregated Woolworth’s counter in the city. The so-called “Greensboro Four” kept coming back every day for six months with friends and supporters until they were served. Their determination to resist Jim Crow laws inspired thousands of peaceful sit-ins and helped end official segregation in the South. Their story is now the star attraction of the new museum.
For an extended interview with one of the original Greensboro Four, Franklin McCain, please click here.
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