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Roots Music Exhibit Comes to Mount Airy
Wednesday, March 17 2010
by Jessica Jones
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Mount Airy resident Chester McMillian toured for 15 years playing guitar.
A new exhibit from the Smithsonian has just arrived in North Carolina. It celebrates what’s called American roots music, including genres like jazz and folk that are unique to this country. This is the first traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian to come to North Carolina. Jessica Jones reports its first stop is in one of the most musically rich parts of the state.
Find out more about the New Harmonies exhibit:
http://www.nchumanities.org/index.html
Soul Census Ambassadors Work to Reach Undercounted
Tuesday, March 16 2010
by Leoneda Inge
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Ministers last week at First Baptist Church in Raleigh after being Pinned "Soul Census Ambassadors"
The 2000 Census showed that North Carolina was one of the fasted growing states in the nation. But that count wasn't perfect. Experts say North Carolina's population was undercounted by about 1.3 percent. And that meant millions of dollars in lost funds for schools, health care and more.
A big portion of the undercounted are poor minorities. In Wake County, ministers at African-American churches have been deputized to help find some of the undercounted. They're called Soul Census Ambassadors.
Tribal Leaders Promote Census
Monday, March 15 2010
by Leoneda Inge
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American Indian leaders are encouraging tribal members to fill out census forms when they arrive in the mail this week. North Carolina and nine other states have the largest American Indian populations. This demographic has been under-counted in the past at a higher rate than other minority populations.
North Carolina American Indians recently wrapped up their 35th annual Unity Conference in Raleigh, and the census bureau was there.
Shirley Freeman is a member of the Waccamaw-Siouon tribe. "Some now in my community cannot read and write," she says. "So we have to go into the homes and help them be accounted for. They know who they are, but as far as putting it on paper, seeing it and recognizing that it's a census form--that doesn't happen to some of them, even now."
Numbers show there are about 100,000 American Indians in the state.
Dueling Health Care Rallies
Friday, March 12 2010
by Laura Leslie
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The health care debate roiling Capitol Hill led to a shouting match in downtown Raleigh yesterday.
The protest at Congressman Etheridge's office was organized by opponents of the President's health care reform plan. But the small group was drowned out by a larger counter-rally of supporters. The two sides shouted at each other across Fayetteville street. Sabine French was with the supporters. She carried a sign saying Polite People for health care reform.
"The folks who've been willing to engage in more obnoxious behavior have really sort of gotten all the media attention, and I understand that, but I feel that there's probably a majority of people who support these reforms."
On the other corner, Vi McCane stood with the opponents. Her voice shook with emotion as she described her fear of government control.
"There's gonna be blood in the streets of America, because they are running over We the People."
Etheridge, a Democrat, is expected to support the health care reform plan in the US House.
